'^^ 

u 


A  SERMON 


OCCASIONED 


BY  THE  DEATH 


MAJOR  GEN.  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 


9. 

A  SERMON, 


OCCASIONED 


BY  THE  DEATH 


OF 


Mx\JOR  GEN.  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON, 

AVHO    WAS    KILLED 

BY  AARON  BURR,  ESQ. 

VICE    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES, 
IN    A    DUEL,    JULY  11,    1804. 

PREACHED,  IN  CHRIST-CHURCH  AND  ST.    PETEr's,    PHILADELPHIA, 
ON    SUNDAY,    JULY    22d,    1 804, 


BY  JAMES  ABERCROMBIE,  D.  D. 

ONE    OF    THE    ASSISTANT  MINISTERS    OF    CHRIST-CHURCH 

AND  ST.  Peter's. 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHHD,  BY  H.  MAXV/ELL,  NORTH  SECOND-STREET, 
OPPOSITE    CHRIST-CHURCH. 


1804, 


-^c^c:^ 


*' At  a  Meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  on  Monday  July 
1 6th,  agreeably  to  public  notice,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  proper 
measures  for  the  expression  of  their  grief  at  the  untimely  fate  of 
their  deceased  fellow  citizen  Major  Gen.  Alexander  Hamilton^  their 
admiration  of  his  virtues  and  his  talents,  and  their  gratitude  for  the 
eminent  services  which  as  a  Soldier  and  a  Statesman  he  has  rendered 
to  his  country ;  "  the  following,  among  other  resolutions,  was  pass- 
ed. 

"Resolved,  that  the  clergymen  of  the  several  denominations, 
be  requested  to  expatiate,  on  Sunday  next,  upon  the  irreligious  and 
pernicious  tendency  of  aj  custom,  which  has  deprived  our  country 
of  one  of  her  best  and  most  valuable  citizens,  and  has  proved  so 
destructive  to  the  happiness  of  his  family. 

«  THOMAS  WILLING,  Chairman. 
«*  Wm.  Meredith — Sec'ry.'* 


|C7*  The  publication  of  the  following  Sermon  would  have  taken 
place  immediately  after  it  was  delivered,  had  not  the  most  imperi- 
ous necessity  obliged  the  author  to  be  absent  from  the  city,  during 
the  month  of  August. 


TO 


MRS.  ELIZABETH  HAMILTON. 

Madam, 

The  melancholy  event  which  has  depriv- 
ed yon  of  an  affectionate  husband — your  chil- 
dren of  a  vigilant  protector — and  the  United 
States  of  America  of  one  of  the  most  valuable  and 
meritorious  of  her  sons^  has  justly  excited  in  the 
breasts  of  the  'ioise^  the  virtuous^  ajidthe  good^  the 
most  poignant  sensations  of  sorrow^  and  raised 
the  loud  cry  of  lamentation  and  distress. 

The  death  of  General  Hamilton^  Madam^ 
must  ever  be  deplored^  as  a  national  calamity. 

Among  the  various  tributes  of  respect  which 
have  been  offered  to  the  memory  of  your  illustri- 
ous husband^  that  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia 
has  not  been.,  I  trusty  the  least  acceptable  to  you, 
I  am  confident  it  was  expressed  with  ardour  and 
siiicerity. 

By  their  resolutions  of  16  th  July.,  the  clergy 
%vere  requested  to  give  their  aid^  on  the  following 
Sunday^  towards  the  suppression  of  a  fasJiion- 


VI 


able  yet  destructive  practice^  which  had  so  re- 
ceiitly  inflicted  on  our  country  an  irreparable  loss. 

In  compliance  with  this  request^  1  composed^ 
though^  in  haste^  the  following  Sermon:  and  be- 
ing now    ccdled  upon^  by   the  partiality  of  my 
friends^  to  commit  it  to  the  press^  a  sense  of  pro- 
priety^ combined  with  the  most  respectful  esteem^ 
induces  me  to  dedicate  it^  Madam ^  in  this  public 
manner^  to  you;  in  testimony  of  the  profound  vene- 
ration  with  which  I  ever  contemplated  the  pre- 
eminent talents  and  virtues  of  your  departed  com- 
pa77io7i  and  friend^  as  well  as  of  my  sincere  and 
high  estimation  of  that  resplendent  and  acknow- 
ledged merit  whicli  constitutes  your  o^cn  character. 

The  trial  you  have  been  called  upon  to  cxperi^ 
enccy  though  charged  with  an  unusual  degree  of 
severity,  has,  I  trust,  been  received  by  you  with 
that  rationed  fortitude,  and  exemplary  Christian 
resignation,  which  shone  so  conspicuously  in  your 
conduct  on  a  former  similar  occasion,  when  a 
beloved  son  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  delusive  princi' 
pies  of  modern  honour. 

May  that  Almighty  Being  who  directeth  the 
government  of  the  Uiuverse,  and  who  ^^  chasten- 


vu 


eth  those  whom  he  loveth^ "  enable  you  to  derive 
such  spiritual  improvement  from  these  dispensa- 
tions  of  his  providence^  as  may  elevate  you  to 
the  highest  possible  attainment  of  Christian  ex^ 
cellence  ift  this  worlds  and  of  celestial  felicity  in 
the  world  which  is  to  come. 

With  the  sincerest  sympathy  in  your  affliction^ 
and  the  most  affectionate  ivishesfor  your  present* 
and  future  welfare^ 

I  am^ 

Madam^ 

Tour  most  obedient^ 
Humble  Servant^ 

JAMES  ABERCROMBIE, 


Philadelphia, 
October  10.  1804. 


A  SERMON,  he. 


JOB,  CH.  XIV.  VER.  10. 
MAN  GIVETH  UP  THE  GHOST,  AND  WHERE  IS  HE? 

A  SOLEMN  assertion,  indeed!  and  an  awful 
and  important  inquiry ;  the  resolution  of  which 
most  intimately  concerns  every  one  in  this  as- 
sembly ! — not  only  on  account  of  affection  for 
our  departed  relatives  and  friends,  but  of  our 
own  condition,  when  the  toils,  the  troubles,  the 
pains,  and  deceitful  pleasures,  of  this  short  and 
uncertain  life  are  over. 

If  there  be  another  state  of  existence  after 
this,  a  state  of  retribution  for  our  conduct  here — 
and  that  there  is,  we  cannot  doubt, — the  in- 
quiry is  surely  both  rational  and  necessary. 

A 


We  know  that  death  is  the  inevitable  lot  of 
man.  We  daily  see  our  fellow  creatures  borne 
to  the  silent  grave,  where  there  can  be  no  re- 
pentance nor  device.  We  know  that  the  body 
only  is  deposited  there,  that  the  etherial  prin- 
ciple which  animated  it  is  immortal,  and  that 
the  operation  of  death  is  the  separation  of  the 
one  from  the  other.  There  lies  the  tabernacle 
of  clay!  but  where's  the  soul — the  spirit  which 
inhabited  it?  "Gone  to  its  great  account!" — 
Gone  to  the  invisible  and  spiritual  world, 
whither  ours  must  soon  follow! — how  soon,  we 
know  not. 

The  passage  of  Holy  Writ  which  I  have 
selected  for  my  text,  and  which  I  offer  to  your 
present  contemplation,  was  chosen  in  reference 
to  a  late  melancholy  event,  which  derives  unu- 
sual solemnity  from  its  peculiar  circumstances, 
and  demands  our  most  serious  attention. 

Dismissing,  therefore,  for  a  few  moments, 
all  obtrusive,  busy  thoughts,  and  anxious, 
worldly  cares, 

"With  inward  stillness,  and  a  Ixjwcd  mind," 

let  us  pause,  and  meditate  on  death.   Let  us 


attentively,  and  with  religious  awe,  listen  to  the 
warning  voice  of  our  departed  brother,  who, 
"though  dead,  yet  speaketh;"'^^"  and,  v/ho  by  the 
example  which  he  hath  exhibited  of  the  brevity 
and  uncertainty  of  human  life,  calls  upon  us  to 
reflect,  that  "it  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once 
to  die:"t  and  that  "  there  may  be  but  a  step 
between  us  and  death. "J 

On  such  an  occasion,  we  are  naturally  led 
to  consider,  what  may  be  the  condition  of  the 
soul  in  the  world  of  spirits ;  the  period  of  pro- 
bation being  terminated.  "Man  giveth  up  the 
ghost,  and  where  is  he?" 

The  doctrine  of  a  future  state  of  existence 
after  death,  and  that  a  state  of  retribution,  has, 
we  know,  either  from  a  principle  inherent  in 
man's  constitution,  from  tradition,  or  from  the 
deductions  of  reason,  been  universally  received 


*Heb.  11.4.  in  allusion  to  Gen.  4.  10.  "And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Cain,  what  hast  thou  done  ?  the  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood 
crieth  unto  me  from  the  ground." 

t  Heb.  9.  27.  \  1  Sam.  20,  3. 


and  cherished  by  all  nations.*  The  imperfect 
suggestions,  however,  of  reason,  in  the  early- 
ages  of  the  world,  with  respect  to  the  soul's  im- 
mortality, could  gratify  even  the  anxious  re- 


*Tf  we  consult  the  records  of  historians,  we  shall  find,  tliat  the 
doctrine  of  the  soul's  immortality  lu.s  pervaded  l11  nations,  l.cwe\cr 
remotely  separated  by  distance  of  time  or  place;  evincing  almost 
an  innate  conviction  of  that  important  truth. 

Of  the  varioHS  testimonies  on  tliis  sul)ject,  the  following  may 
be  considered  as  some  of  tl.e  most  prominent. 

<Privic*T6  rati  "^v^xi  rav  uvB-^uittojv  v'^x^yjiv  xB-x)>x,t^;.^^ 

Pythagoras  the  Samian,  and  some  oliiers  of  the  ancient  natu- 
ralists, have  declared  the  souls  of  men  to  be  immortal. 

Diodorus  Sicuhis,  L.  X\'III.  S.  1. 

2.  Xenophon,  in  his  Cyropoediu,  tiuis  cNpresses  the  stntiments 
of  Cyrus  in  his  last  moments,  when  ad(h'essing  I. is  sons: 

**  Oy  yxp  ^yiTTH  tkto  */£  cx^ug  ooy.iTTi  iioivxi,  ojj  vaiv  irouxi  iyt»  eT< 
tTU^xv    ra  xiB-^wrivii  /3«»  riXivTr,7a'    tf^i   yx^  vvv  roi  in  y    luyiv  -^v^f^ttt 

iOPXTl,     «>A'   0<;  ^UTT^XTTiTOy    T»Te.<    OtfTJJV    6»;  HS-XV     KXTi^U^XTi. OvTOl 

tywyt,   A>  "Txidi;,   vdi  ruTt   TrMTFon    iTnia-^r^i^  a/5  n   V'-'Pil)    **<  ,**»'  *»  6» 
3-»>jTw  a-ufixTi  ,",    ^k'  07XV  2i  Tara  x-rxXXxyrt^  T£.9-v»)X£y." 

Think  not  you  know  assuredly,  that  when  I  shall  have  finished 
my  life  amongst  men,  I  shall  thence  be  annihilated.  In  what  is 
now  past  you  saw  not  my  soul,  but,  by  the  actions  wliich  it  per- 
formed, you  discovered  its  existence... .By  no  means,  my  sons, 
was  I  ever  persuaded,  that  the  soul  lives  only  wliilst  it  remain* 
in  a  mortal  body,  but  is  dead  wlien  it  hath  departed  tlience. 

Xenoplion's  Cyropxdia,  B.  N'lII. 

3.  Plato  thus  records  the  opinion  of  Socrates  imparted  to  Sim- 
mias  and  Cel)es : 

"  Et  f^ii  jxn  nu/i*  f.^iit  TF^vTti  uii  Tx^x  .*)!»;  fltXXirf  ff-»^«f  ti  kxi  «-/«.%<?, 

ITUTX    KXi    TZXf  XfB-^MTTVi  TiTtAifTI]X.OTde;    XfAUIiti    Ttlt   {>^-«(di,      1t2l*>if    Xf, 


searches  of  the  most  sagacious  and  contempla- 
tive philosopher  no  further,  than  to  induce  a 
degree  of  confidence,  resting  entirely  upon  the 
precarious  foundation  oi probabUity :  and  many 

8«  etyocvuKTiov  ru  B-xvxtoi.  vvv  ofc,  sy  iri  on.  Trap  otvopxg  ts  iXthZju  u<p.\- 
ic-9-xt  uyotB-a^'  y.xi  raro  ^wsv  hk  xv  ttxw  ciu<r^vpia-Xiuyiv'  on  fX.iVToi 
'Ttxqx  S-gj<?  ^io-rorxg  -ttxvv  xyxB-H?  yj^iiv,  tv  <f£  or/,  UTTi^  n  xXXo  rmv  roia- 
TAiv,  dw5";(iyi^/ri3i:/,A6''5v  xv  kxi  raro'  ^>?i  Oix  rxvrx  ovyj  <3^o<a'5  xyx^XKrci■y 
ciXX  iviX'ng  u^^i  nvxi  n  roi^  TiTiXivry)Koa-t'  xxij  cotttsp  yi  kxi  ttxXxi 
Xiyirxiy  "TToXv  xf^nvcv  roig  xyxj'Ofi;  »)  too;  KXKdig." 

If,  indeed,  I  were  not  expecting  to  go,  first  to  other  Gods  both 
wise  and  good,  and  then  to  men,  who  have  died,  and  are  better  than 
those  in  this  state,  I  had  acted  wrong  in  not  being  concerned  cit 
the  approach  of  death ;  but  now,  be  assured,  I  hope  to  arrive 
amongst  good  men  ;  tliough  this  I  would  not  positively  affirm  ;  but 
that  I  shall  go  to  Gods,  who  are  rulers  altogether  good,  this  be 
assured,  I  would  affirm,  if  I  could  affirm  any  thing  of  this  nature. 
On  these  accounts,  therefore,  I  am  not  so  concerned  as  otherwise 
I  should  have  been,  but  have  earnest  hope  that  there  remains 
something  for  those  who  have  died,  and,  as  was  long  ago  said, 
something  much  better  for  the  good  than  for  the  wicked. 

Plato's  Phoedo.  Forster's  Ed.  P.  170. 

4.  "  n^MTOi  ci  y.x.i  rovoz  tov  Xoyov  Atyvrnoi  utiV  ot  g<7rovT!$,  ig 
uv^^azra  "^vy^n  xB-xvxrog  iff  ra  truf^XTog  o%  KXTx^B-ivovTog^  eg  xXXo 
C^c-jov  x'.ii  yivo^iivov  z^dvirxi'  zttixv  oi  ttz^hX^^  ttxvtx  tx  "viprrxtx  x.xi  ro$ 
B-xXxa-a-ix  Kxt  rx  yriruvx^  avr/j  i<^  xvB-^UTra  cru)^ux  yivofZivov  i^-^uvuv,'* 

The  Egyptians  are  the  first  who  have  asserted  that  the  soul 
of  man  is  immortal :  when  the  body  is  dead,  the  soul  enters  into 
some  other  living  creature,  as  it  is  born  in  that  succession  which 
is  continually  coming  into  existence ;  but  when  it  has  gone 
through  creatures  of  land  and  sea,  and  through  birds,  it  enters 
into  the  body  of  man  v.hen  born. 

Herodotus,  L.  II.  S.  123. 


of  their  most  refined  opinions,  when  given  to  the 
world,  became  corrupted  and  deformed  by  a 
variety  of  superstitious  fears  and  absurd  mis- 
conceptions :  so  that  death  and  the  grave  were 


5.  The  celebrated  Dr.  Middleton  thus  expresses  the  sentiments 
of  Cicero : 

"  He  held  likewise  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  its  separate 
existence  after  death  in  a  state  of  happiness  or  misery.  This  he 
inferred  from  that  ardent  thirst  of  immortality,  which  was  always 
the  most  conspicuous  in  the  best  and  most  exalted  minds ;  from 
which  the  truest  specimen  of  their  nature  must  needs  be  drawn : 
from  its  unmixed  and  indivisible  essence,  which  had  nothing 
separable  or  perishable  in  it:  from  its  wonderful  powers  and 
faculties;  its  principle  of  self-motion,  its  memory,  invention,  wit, 
comprehension,  which  were  all  incompatible  with  sluggish  mat- 
ter." 

**  As  to  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  he  considered 
it  as  a  consequence  of  the  soul's  immortality  ;  deducible  from  the 
attributes  of  God,  and  the  condition  of  man's  life  on  earth  ;  and 
thought  it  so  highly  probable,  that  we  could  hardly  doubt  of  it,  he 
says,  unless  it  should  happen  to  our  minds,  when  they  look  into 
themselves,  as  it  does  to  our  eyes,  when  they  look  too  intensely 
at  the  sun,  that  finding  their  sight  dazzled,  they  give  over  look- 
ing at  all !" 
IMiddleton's  Life  of  Cicero.     Sect.  XII.  Vol.  III.  P.  341—343. 

6.  CiESAR  relates  of  the  Druicla^  or  the  ministers  of  religion 
among  the  ancient  Gauls  and  Britons: 

"In-  primis  hoc  volunt  persuadcre,  non  inlcrire  animas,  sed  ab 
aliis  post  mortem  transire  ad  alios ;  atque  hoc  maximc  ad  virtu- 
tem  excilari  putant,  metu  mortis  ncglecto." 

One  of  their  leading  doctrines  is,  that  the  souls  of  men  do  not 
perish  at  their  death,   but  puss  from  one  body  to  another ;  thuii 


rendered  objects  of  terror  and  dismay  to  the 
generality  of  the  expiring  sons  of  Adam.  But, 
no  sooner  did  the  beams  of  Divine  Revelation 
begin   to  illuminate  a   benighted   world, — no 


they  think  to  inspire  them  with  courage,  by  extinguishing  the 

dread  of  annihilation. 

Cxs.  Com.  de  Bello  Gallico,  L.  VI.  13. 
7.  The  Poet  Lucan  has -these  Hnes: 

••  Et  vos  barbaricos  ritiis,  moreraque  sinistrum 

Sacrorum,  Druidx,  positis  repetisiis  ab  armis. 

Solis  nosse  deos  et  coeli  numina  vobis, 

Aut  solis  nescire  datum :  nemora  alta  remotis 

Incohtis  lucis.     Vobis  auctoribus,  umbrx 

Non  tacitas  Erebi  sedes,  Ditisque  profundi 

Pallida  regna  petunt :  regit  idem  spiritus  artus 

Orbe  alio :  longx  (canitis  si  cognita)  vitx' 

Mors  media  est.     Certe  populi,  quos  despicit  Arctos 

Felices  errore  suo,  quos  ille  timorum 

Maximus,  baud  urget  leti  metus :  inde  ruendi 

In  fermm  mens  prona  viris,  animceque  capaces 

Mortis,  et  ignavum  rediturx  parcere  vitse.'* 

Lucan.  Phar.  L.  1 .  450. 

"  The  Druids  now,  while  arms  are  heard  no  more, 

Old  mysteries  and  barb'rous  rites  restore: 

A  tribe  who  singular  religion  love. 

And  haunt  the  lonely  coverts  of  the  grove. 

To  these,  and  these  of  all  mankind  alone, 

The  (iods  are  sure  reveal'd,  or  sure  unknown. 

If  dying  mortals'  dooms  they  sing  aright, 

No  ghosts  descend  to  dwell  in  dreadful  night: 

No  parting  souls  to  grisly  Pluto  go, 

Nor  seek  the  dreary  silent  shades  below  : 


10 


sooner  did  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arise — 
than  the  lowering  clouds  of  doubt  were  speedily- 
dissipated.  The  celestial  Conqueror,  by  whom 
Death  was  disarmed  of  his  sting,  and  the  Grave 


But  forth  they  fly  immortal  in  their  kind, 
And  other  bodies  in  n'jw  worlds  they  find. 
Thus  life  forever  runs  its  endless  race, 
And,  like  a  line,  death  but  divides  the  space, 
A  stop  which  can  but  for  a  moment  last, 
A  point  between  the  future  and  the  past. 
Thrice  happy  they  beneath  their  northern  skies, 
Who  that  worst  fear,  the  fear  of  death,  despise, 
Hence  they  no  cares  for  this  fraii  being  feel, 
But  rush  undaunted  on  the  pointed  steel ; 
Provoke  approaching^  fate,  and  bravely  scorn 
To  spare  that  life  which  must  so  soon  return." 

Howe's  Translation  B.  I.  L  790. 

8,  Sir  Wm.  Temple,  speaking  of  the  religious  tenets  of  the 
Goths,  \'andals,  Ahms,  Lombards,  Huns,  and  other  Northern 
nations,  who,  at  dilTerent  times,  invaded  the  Roman  Lmpire,  says, 

"Whkther  they  were  deduced  from  that  of  Zamolxis  among 
the  Getes,  styled  of  old,  Immortals,  or  introduced  by  Odin  among 
the  Western  (ioths,  it  is  certain  that  an  opinion  was  fixed  and 
general  among  the  ni,  that  death  was  but  the  entrance  into  another 
life ;  that  all  men  who  lived  lazy  and  inactive  lives,  and  died  natu- 
ral deaths,  by  sickness  or  by  age,  went  into  vast  caves  under 
ground,  all  dark  and  miiy,  full  ol  noisome  creatures,  usual  in  such 
places,  and  there  fjrever  grovelled  in  endless  stench  and  misery. 
On  the  contrary,  all  who  gave  themselves  to  warlike  actions 
and  enterinizes,  to  tlie  coiujucsl  of  their  neighbours  and  slaughter 
of  enemies,  and  died  in  batik,  or  of  violent  deaths  upon  bold  ad- 
ventures or  resolutions,  they  went  iuuncdiately  to  the  vast  hill  or 


11 


disappointed  of  its  victory,  appeared ;  merciful- 
ly drew  aside  the  veil  between  the  earthly  and 
spiritual  world,  and  proclaimed  our  deliverance 
from  their  power:  teaching  us  to  consider  the 

palace  of  Odin,  their  god  of  war»  who  eternally  kept  open  house 
for  all  such  guests,  where  they  were  entertained  at  infinite  tables, 
in  perpetual  feasts  and  mirth,  carousing  every  man  in  sculls  of 
their  enemies  they  had  slain,  according  to  which  numbers,  every 
one  in  these  mansions  of  pleasure  was  the  most  honoured  and  the 
best  entertained." 

Essay  3d  of  Heroic  Virtue. 

9.  Hyde  in  his  history  of  the  religion  of  the  ancient  Persians 
asserts : 

"  Aliqui  credebant  beatorum  sedem  fore  in  corpora  solis,  ut 
ManichcEi  et  alii  hoeretici.  Orthodoxi,  post  animx  ascensum  ad 
Deum  (ut  apud  sepulchreta  cernitur)  et  requiem  apud  eum  usque 
ad  resurrectionem,  credunt  habitationem  corporalcm,  reunitia 
animabus,  rursus  tandem  fore  in  hoc  mundo  renovato  et  reficto: 
teiTam  enim  de  novo  refingendam,  et  talem  ejusdem  statum  fore 
in  ultimo  judicio,  ipsi  Indo— Persce  produnt — Quod  hxc  sit  revera 
eorum  traditio,  constat  ex  libro  Sad-cler,  ubi  inter  Zoroastris  prac- 
cepta  et  canones,  traditur  talem  fore  Paradisum  terrestrem  amoe- 
nitate,  ad  instar  /lorti  glGriodssimiy  ad  quem  etiam  per  ponlem 
transeundum  sd  statum  renovatum.  Dictus  li^quc  /wtis  judiciu lit 
a  Camusi  autore  describitur,  /ions  extensus  sujier  dorsum  gehenne. 
Et  quicunque  per  hunc  pontem,  a  nemine  angelorum  prspcdltus, 
pertransit,  ad  Paradisum  pertingit:  alias  a  ponte  delapsus,  in  Tar- 
tara  cadit,  et  in  ea  prxcipitatur.  In  isto  ponte  constituti  sunt 
duo  angeli  examinatores :  quorum  ille  bilancnn  secum  in  manu  ha- 
bet,  ut  possit  examinare  hominum  bona  opera  seu  merita ;  ut  si 
nimis  levia  sint,  a  ponte  dejccti  inimergantur  in  gehennam ;  si  vero 
graviora  et  ponderosa,  tum  per  prxdictum  pontem  transcunt  iu 
Paradisum  amcsnissimum,  6cc.  &c." 

Hyde's  Vetcrum  Persarum,  Religionis  Historia,  C.  3J. 
B 


12 


one,  as  a  messenger  of  mercy,  sent  to  break  off 
the  fetters  of  mortality;  and  the  other,  as  the 
gate  of  admission  into  tlie  paradise  of  Cxod, 


Some  of  them  believed  that  the  souls  of  the  blessed  were  trans- 
lated to  the  Sun.  This  was  the  opinion  lield  by  the  Maiiichceuus 
and  other  heretics.  While  the  orthodox  asserted,  (as  appears  by  the 
inscriptions  in  tlieir  burial  places^,  that  after  death,  the  soul  as- 
cended to  God,  where  it  enjoyed  a  state  of  quiet  repose,  until  the 
i"Csurrection :  that  it  was  then  re-united  to  a  body,  and  returned  to 
this  earth,  which  would  at  tiiat  time  be  renewed  and  punfiefl. 
For,  the  Indo-Persians  profess  to  believe,  that  the  earth  is  to  be 
formed  anew,  at  the  general  judgment. — That  this  was  really 
a  tradition  among  them  is  evident  from  one  of  their  books  entitled 
^ad'clevy  where  among  the  precepts  and  canons  of  Zoroaster,  it 
is  said  that  the  ten-estrial  paradise  would  be  similar  in  its  splen- 
dour and  happiness  to  that  of  the  celestial  regions,  with  which 
it  would  be  connected  by  means  of  a  bridge.  This  judicial 
dridifp^  according  to  Camusus,  is  extended  over  the  gulph  of  Hell. 
And  whoever  passed  over  this  bridi^e  without  being  interrupted  in 
the  way  by  an  angel,  went  forward  into  l^aradise ;  but  if  thrown 
from  the  bridge  was  instantly  precipitated  into  lartariis  :  upon 
this  bridge  two  angels  wer;i  always  stationed,  one  of  whom  had  a 
pair  of  scales,  in  which  the  merits  and  demerits  of  men  were  care- 
fully weighed,  that  if  the  latter  prepondej-ated,  they  weix;  thrown 
down  into  the  regions  of  misery  ;  l)ut  if  the  former,  tiiey  were  pt_r- 
milted  to  pass  over  into  Paradise. 

Hvdl's  History  of  the  religion  of  the  ancirnt  Persians,  C  53. 
P.  491. 

10.  Sir  Wm.  Jones,  speaking  of  the  niodcni  Persians,  tells  ns: 

*'  I  wii  1,  only  detain  you  with  a  few  remarks  on  that  melai)hysi- 
cal  theology,  which  has  been  professed  inimemoiially  by  a  nun:e- 
rous  sjcl  of  Pemiam  and  IJi.-;dufty  was  carried  in  pait  into  Cnrccy 
and  prevails  even  now  uujon^thc  learned  Muaclmana^  who  some- 


13 


Thus,  amid  the  fears  and  sorrows  which 
unavoidably  embitter  hum.an  Ufe,  as  a  state  of 
probation,  we  are  relieved  from  that  most  pierc- 
ing and  dejecting  of  all  fears — the  dread  of  anni- 

limes  avow  It  without  reserve.  Th.e  moclcrn  philosophers  of  this 
persuasion  are  called  SuGs,  either  from  the  Greek  word  for  a 
eag-e,  or  from  the  vjooUcn  mantle,  which  they  used  to  wear  iu 
some  provinces  of  Persia.  Their  fundamental  tenets  are,  that 
nothing  exists  absolutely  but  God ;  that  the  human  soul  is  an 
emanation  from  his  essence,  and,  though  divided  for  a  time  from  its 
heavenly  source,  will  be  finally  reunited  with  it ;  that  the  highest 
possible  happiness  will  arise  from  its  reunion,  and  that  the  chief 
good  of  mankind,  in  this  transitoiy  world,  consists  in  as  perfect  an 
union  with  the  Eternal  Spirit,  as  the  incumbrances  of  a  mortal 
frame  will  allow." 

Asiatic  Researches :  Vol.  2.  P,  62. 

1 1.  Stuabo  thus  speaks  of  the  ancient  Brachmans: 

tvB-ccoi  /iioVf  <y$  ccv  ccx.uy,v  Kvof^svMv  uvea*  rov  2i  B-xvoctov  yivic-iv  iig  rov  ovra/^ 
/2lov,  y.xi  iv^xiuovcc  TOig  (piXogo(pr,o-cc<rr  2to  rn  otcrKYicru  tsrXua-p  p^p/jo-^xi 
9r^d5  TO  iTOif^oB-xvxTor  xycc^ov  ^£  -/J  y.ux.oy  ^njj^gv  nvxi  im  vvf^cXiViVTi^ 
ocvB-^oJ'^oig, 

(Mf.gasthenes  says)  they  disccurse  much  on  death;  for  they 
think  the  life  here  present  to  be  as  the  stiite  of  creatures  fully  con- 
ceived, but  death  they  consider  as  a  birth  to  life  really  such,  a  life 
happy  to  those  who  have  studied  wisdom :  for  this  reason  they  ex- 
ercise themselves  in  preparing  for  death.  Of  the  events  which 
befal  men,  they  hold  that  not  one  is  either  good  or  bad. 

Sirabo,  L.  XV.  P  490.  Ed  .1587, 

12.  And  Mr.  Wilkins  thus  of  the  modern  Brahnians. 
Thkiu   opinion  concerning  the  nature  of  the  soul,  is  thus  deli 

vercd  in  the  Bhagvat-Geeta: 


14 


hilation.  God  has  herein  given  us  the  most 
sublime  and  animating  consolation.  In  the  Gos- 
pel of  our  salvation,  there  is  abundant  provi- 
sion made  for  the  wants,  the  weaknesses,  and 


„Thou  gricvest  for  those  wlio  are  unwoilhy  to  be  lamented, 
whilst  thy  sentiments  are  those  of  the  wise  men.     The  wise  nei- 
ther grieve  for  the  dead  nor  for  the  living,     i  myself  never  ivaa 
not,  nor  thou,  nor  all  the  princes  of  the  earth  ;  nor  shall  we  ever 
hereafter  cease  to  he.     As  the  soul,  in  t]»is  mortal  frame,  findeth 
infancy*  youth,  and  old  age;  so,  in  some  future  frame,  will  it 
find  the  like.  One  who  is  confirmed  in  this  belief,  is  not  disturbed 
by  any  thing  which  can  come  to  pass.       The  sensibility  of  the 
faculties  giveth  heat  and  cold,  pleasure  and  pain  ;  which  come  and 
go,  and  are  transient  and  inconstant.     Bear  them  with  patience, 
O  Son  of  Bhiir-at;  for  the  wise  man,  whom  these  disturb  not,  and 
to  whom  pain  and  pleasure  are  the  same,  is  formed  for  immorta- 
lity.   The  man  who  believeth  that  it  is  the  soul  which  killelh,  and 
he  who  thinketh  that  the  soul  may  be  destroyed,  are  both  alike  de- 
ceived; for  it  neither  kiileth,  nor  is  it  killed.   It  is  not  a  thing,  of 
which  a  man  may  say,  it  hath  been,  it  is  about  to  be,  or  it  is  to 
be  hereafter;  for  it  is  a  thing  without  birth;  it  is  ancient,  con- 
stant, and  etemal ;  and  is  not  to  be  destroyed  in  this  its  mortal  frame. 
IIow  can  a  m*an  who  believeth  that  this  thing  is  incorruptible, 
eternal,  inexhaustible,  and  without  birth,  think  tluit  he  can  either 
kill  or  cause  it  to  be  killed?  As  a  man  throwcth  away  old  garments, 
and  putteth  on  new,  even  so  the  soul,  having  quitted  its  old  mor- 
tal frame,  entereth  into   others  which  are  new.     The  wea])on  di- 
vidttii  it  not,  the  fne  burnetii  it  !U>t,  the  water  corrupteth  it  not, 
the  wind  drieth  it  not  away ;  for  it  is  indivisible,  inconsumable, 
incorruptible,  and  is  not  to  be  dried  away ;  it  is  eternal,  universal, 
permanent,  immoveable;  it  isin\isible,  inconceivable,  and  unalier- 
kble  ;  therefore  believing  it  to  be  thus,  thou  shouldest  not  grieve." 
Ltclure  2.  Bhi';it-Gccta.     Translated  by  Mr.  \\  ilkins. 


IB 


the  guilt  of  man.  If  the  world  should  fail  us, 
we  are  to  consider  ourselves  as  strangers  and 
sojourners  here,  whose  treasures  and  whose 
home  are  in  Heaven — If  we  suffer  affliction  in 


13.  That  laborious  researclier,  Purchas,  gives  this  account  of 
the  belief  of  the  Africans,  upon  the  coast  of  Guinea,  v/ith  respect 
to  a  future  existence. 

"We  asked  them  of  their  beliefe,  and  what  opinion  they  had  of 
<livers  things  ;  as  first,  when  they  died  what  became  of  tlieir  bodies 
and  Bouls?  they  made  us  answere,  that  the  body  is  dead,  but  they  knew 
not  what  any  resurrection  at  the  latter  day  meant,  as  we  doe ;  but 
when  they  die,  tljey  know  that  they  goe  into  another  world,  but 
they  know  not  whither  ^  and  that  therein  they  differ  fiom  brute 
beasts,  but  they  cannot  tell  you  to  what  place  they  goe,  whether 
under  the  earth  or  up  into  heaven;  but  when  tliey  die,  they  use 
to  give  the  dead  bodie  something  to  carrie  with  him  ;  whereby  it 
is  to  be  marked  that  they  believe  that  there  is  another  life  after 
this,  and  that  there  they  have  need  of  such  things  as  they  have 
here  on  earth," 

Parts.  Purchases  Pilgrims,  L.  VII.  C.  2.  §  4.  p,  943.  Ed.  1625. 

U.  Edwards  in  his  Histoiy  of  the  West  Indies,  says, 

"They  tell  me  likewise,  that  whenever  a  considerable  man  ex- 
pires, several  of  his  wives,  and  a  great  number  of  his  slaves,  are 
sacrificed  at  his  funeral.  This  is  done,  say  they,  that  he  may  be 
prope)  ly  attended  in  the  next  world.  This  circumstance  has  been 
confirmed  to  me  by  eveiy  Gold  Coast  Negro  that  I  have  interro- 
gated on  the  subject,  and  I  have  inquired  of  many." 
Edwards's  Hist,  of  the  West  Indies  B.  IV.  C.  3.  P.  67.  Ed.  1793. 

15.  Dr.  Robertson,  speaking  of  the  Aboriginal  Americans, 
observes : 

"  With  respect  to  the  other  great  doctrine  of  religion,  concern- 
ing the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  sentiments  of  the  Americans 
were  more  united.     The  humai^.  mind,  even  when  least  in;proycd 


16 


our  own  persons,  it  is  to  be  considered  as  the 
chastisement  of  our  heavenly  father — If  we  lose 
our  friends  and  dear  connexions,  who  affection- 
ately twine  around  our  hearts,  and  constitute 

and  mvigorated  by  cultwre,  shrinks  from  the  tliouglit  of  dissolution, 
and  looks  forward,  witli  hope  and  expectation,  to  a  state  of  future 
existence.  Tiiis  sentiment,  resulting  from  a  secret  consciousness 
of  its  own  dignity,  from  an  instinctive  longing  after  immortality, 
is  universal,  and  may  be  deemed  natural.  Upon  this  are  founded 
the  most  exalted  hopes  of  man  in  his  iiighest  state  of  improvement ; 
nor  has  nature  ^vilhhel(l  from  him  this  soothing  consolation,  in 
the  most  early  and  rude  period  of  his  progress.  We  can  trace  this 
opinion  from  one  extremity  of  America  to  the  other.  In  some 
regions  more  faint  and  obscure^  in  othei-s  more  perfectly  develo- 
pe<li  l)Ut  no  where  unknown.  The  most  uncivilized  of  its  savage 
tribes  do  not  apprehend  death  as  the  extinction  of  being.  All  hope 
for  a  future  and  more  happy  state,  where  they  shall  be  for  ever  ex- 
empt from  the  calamities  which  embitter  hum?Ji  life  in  its  pre- 
sent condition.  As  they  imagine,  that  the  dead  begin  anew  their 
career  in  tiie  world  whither  they  are  gone,  that  they  may  not  en- 
ter upon  it  defenceless  and  unprovided,  they  bury  with  them  their 
bow,  their  arrows,  and  other  weapons  used  in  hunting  or  war;  they 
deposite  in  their  tombs  the  skins  or  stuffs  of  which  they  may  make 
J^u■ments,  Indian  corn,  manioc,  venison,  domestic  utensils,  and 
whatever  is  reckoned  among  the  necessaries  in  their  simple  mode 
oflife". 

Robertson's  Hist,  of  America,  R.  IV.  C.  7.  P.  387.  Ed.  1776. 
rr..  Pktkr  Martvk,  discoursing  u\x)n  the  same  subject,  says: 
"DuM  in  littore  (Cubx)  rem  divinam  prarfectus  (Columbus)  au- 
diret,  t ((  e  primari\jm  cjuendam  octogenarimn,  virum  gravem,nec 
CO  minus  nudum,  mullis  evnn  comilantibus.  Hie,  donee  sacra  per- 
agei-cntur  admiratus,  ore  ocrulisque  ipitentus  adsislit :  dehinc 
|jrafccto  cunistruiiv,  cjuein  manu  gerebat,  pknun\  p.ilrix  fruclibua* 


17 


our  principal  happiness,  we  are  not  to  "sorrow 
as  those  who  have  no  hope":*  because,  "the 
hour  is  coming,  in  which  they  who  are  in  their 
graves,  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God, 

dono  dedit :  sedensque  apud  eum  per  interpretem  Didacum  co- 
lonum,  qui  id  idloma,  cum  propius  accessissent,  intelli^-ebat,  oratir 
onem  habuit  hujuscemodi : 

"Terras  omnes  istas  hactenus  tibi  ig-notas,  manu  potenti  te 
percurrisse,  renunciatum  nobis  fuit,  populisque  iucolis  metum  noii 
mediocrem  intulisse.  Quare  te  hortor  moneoque,  ut  itinera  duo, 
cum  e  coi'poic  prosiliunt,  animas  habere  scias :  tcncbrosum  unum 
ac  tetrum,  his  paratum,  qui  generi  humano  molesti  infcnsique 
sunt :  jucundum  aliud  et  delectabile,  illis  statutum,  qui  pacem  et 
quietem  gentium  viventes  amarunt.  Si  igitur  te  mortalem  esse, 
et  unicuique  pro  prxsentibus  operibus  futura  merita  obsignata 
memincris,  nemmem  infestabis.'* 

VVHiLST  the  Admiral  (Columbus)  was  hearing  divine  service 
on  the  shore  (of  Cuba)  to  his  astonishment,  there  came  a  cliief 
about  eighty  years  old,  a  man  respectable,  yet  naked,  and  with 
him  a  large  company  of  attendants.  Struck  with  admiration,  dur- 
ing the  performance  of  the  religious  ceremonies,  he  stood  silent 
and  with  his  eyes  fixed:  but  when  they  v/ere  concluded,  he  presented 
to  the  Admiral  a  basket  filled  Vv^ith  the  fruits  of  his  country,  wliich 
he  carried  in  his  hand ;  and  sitting  down  near  him,  by  means  of  Di- 
dacus,  an  interpreter,  who  came  from  one  of  tiie  colonics,  and  who, 
upon  near  approach,  understood  that  dialect,  he  spake  to  this  ettect : 
*'  Wk  have  been  tokl,  that  with  your  poweriul  army  you  have  made 
a  rapid  progress  through  all  those  kuKis,  with  which  heretofore  you 
were  unacquair.ted  ;  and  that  you  have  greatly  terriRcd  tlie  people 
Avlio  inhabit  them.     Know  then,  by  my  exhortation  and  calmoiution, 

*   1  Thcss.  4.    13. 


18 


and  shall  come  forth  j''-*^  and,  "them  that  sleep  in 
Jesus  shall  he  bring  with  him/'t — And,  if  we 
ourselves  arc  parting  with  the  world,  and  all 
that  is  dear  to  us  here,  provided  we  are  tlie 

that  for  the  souls  of  men  departed  from  their  bodies,  there  arc 
two  different  ways  of  destination  ;  the  one  dark  and  horrible,  pre- 
pared for  those  who  disturb  and  annoy  mankind  ;  the  other  plea- 
sant and  delijjhtful,  appointed  for  those  who,  during  life,  have  loved 
the  peace  and  trancjuillity  of  nations.  If  you  will  remember  that 
you  are  mortal,  and  that  future  retributions  are  reserved  for  cverj- 
person?  proportioned  to  his  present  actions,  you  will  make  no  one 
unhappy. 

B.  III.  Dec.  l.P.  43.  Ed.  1574. 

17.  Capt.  King,  in  his  account  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  thus 
states  the  sentiments  of  their  inhabitants  on  this  subject : 

"  We  were  able  to  learn  but  little  of  their  notions  with  regard 
to  a  future  state.  Whenever  we  asked  them,  whither  the  dead 
were  gone?  we  were  always  answered,  that  the  breath,  which 
they  appeared  to  consider  as  the  soul,  or  immortal  part,  was  gone 
to  Eatooa  ;  and  on  pushing  otii  in(iuiries  farther,  they  seemed  to 
describe  some  particular  place,  where  they  imagined  the  abode  of 
tiie  deceased  to  be ;  but  we  could  not  perceive,  that  they  thought, 
in  this  state,  either  rewards  or  punishments  awaited  them." 

Capt.  King's  account  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Vol.  III.  B.  5. 
C.  7.  P.  163.  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  VA.  1783. 

18.  Capt.  Cook's  Account  of  the  Friendly  Islands  contains  this 
info:  mat  ion: 

"TiiK  Inhabitants  have  very  proper  sentiments  about  the  im- 
mateiiality  and  immortality  of  the  soul.  They  call  it  life,  the  liv- 
ing principle,  or,  what  is  more  agreeable  to  their  notions  of  it,  an 
Otooa;  that  is,    a  tiixiniiy  or  invisible  being.    '1  liey  say,  that  ini- 

•John  5.  23.     t  »  Thess.  4.   U. 


19 


disciples  of  Christ,  and  our  faith  in  him  will  au- 
thorize us  confidently  and  sincerely  to  exclaim, 
with  the  expiring  Stephen,  "Lord  Jesus,  re- 
ceive my  spirit!"*  his  rod  and  his  staff  shall  be 


mediately  upon  death,  tlie  souls  of  their  chiefs  sep:irate  from  their 
bodies,  and  12^0  to  a  place  called  Eoolootoo;  the  chief,  or  god  of 
which  is  Gooicho — as  to  the  souls  of  tlie  lower  sort  of  people,  they 
uiiderg;o  a  sort  of  transmig-ration  ;  or,  as  they  say,  are  eaten  by  a 
bird  called  Coata^  which  walks  upon  their  graves  for  th.at  purpose." 

Capt.  Cook's  Account  of  the  Friendly  Islands,  Vol.  1.  13.  2. 
C.  11.  P.  405.  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Ed.  1785. 

19.  INIr.  Anderson  tells,  us  that  ^'  the  inhabit:Mits  of  Otaheite 
believe  the  soul  to  be  immaterial  and  immortal.  They  say,  that 
it  keeps  fluttering  about  the  lips,  during  the  pangs  of  death ;  and 
that  then  it  ascends,  and  mixes  witl-i,  or,  as  they  express  it,  is  ea- 
ten by  the  Deity.  In  this  state,  it  remains  for  some  time ;  after 
which,  it  departs  to  a  certain  place,  destined  for  the  reception  of 
the  souls  of  men,  where  it  exists  in  eternal  night ;  or,  as  they 
sometimes  say,  in  twilight  or  dawn.  They  have  no  idea  of  any 
permanent  punishment  after  death,  for  crimes  which  have  been  com- 
mitted on  earth ;  for  the  souls  of  good  and  of  bad  men  are  eaten 
indiscriminately  by  God.  But  th^ey  certainly  consider  this  coali- 
tion with  thQ  Dqity,  as  a  kind  of  purification,  necessary  to  be  un- 
dergone, before  they  enter  a  state  of  blissi." 

Mr.  Anderson's  account  ot  Otaheite,  B.  III.  C.  9.  P.  164. 
Vol.  II.  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Kd.  1785. 

From  these  testimonies,  (to  which  many  others  might  be  added) 
it  appears  incontrovertiL>ly,that  a  belief  in  a  future  state  of  existence 
after  death  has  existed  in  all  nations.  The  mode  of  that  existence 
could  not  possibly  be  ascertained,  but  by  Divine  Rcvclati'^.'V^  whuh 
•we  have  the  inestimable  privilege  of  er.joying. 

*  Acts  7.   59, 
C 


20 


such  support,  as  will  frequently  enable  us  to 
exult  in  that  triumphant  apostrophe...." O 
Death!  where  is  thy  sting?  O  Grave !  where  is 
thy  victory?"* 

Yes,  Brethren,  the  sighs  of  contrition,  and 
the  aspirations  after  holiness,  which  flow  from 
the  sincere  heart,  ascend  before  the  throne  of 
God;  where,  "trumpet-tongtied"  they  plead  for 
favour  and  forgiveness ;  while  their  plea  is  en- 
forced, by  the  atoning  merits  of  the  divine  me- 
diator, and  their  testimony  recorded,  in  the 
mighty,  the  awful  Register  of  Heaven. 

To  such  persons  we  are  assured  the  Lord 
will  not  impute  iniquity,  "  because  in  their  spirit 
there  was  no  guilef't  but  that  "  their  sins  shall 
be  blotted  out,"t  ^I'^J  "theiriniquities  remember- 
ed no  more".  II  To  the  obdurate  and  impeni- 
tent, nothing,  indeed,  remains  at  the  solemn  hour 
of  dissohuion,  but  the  consciousness  of  guilt, 
of  neglected  opportunties  of  repentance  and  sal- 
vation, of  murdered,  mispent  time;  and  conse- 
quently, ''a  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment",** 

*  1   Cor.  15.   55.       t  Ps.  52.  2.       \  Arts.  3.  19.      ||  Ikb.  8.  12. 
•*  Iltb.  10.  27. 


21 


and  of  banishment  from  the  presence  of  God, 
into  the  regions  of  agony  and  despair. 

In  instances  of  sudden  dissolution,  we  see 
how  awful  is  the  power  of  that  agent,  who  is 
permitted  to  extinguish  our  earthly  existence,  in 
a  manner,  sometimes,  the  most  terrifying  and 
alarming.  But,  that  we  m.ay  not  sink  under  the 
painful  apprehensions,  which  such  dispensations 
might  naturally  occasion,  let  us  turn  our  atten- 
tion to  the  exhilarating  assurance  given,  by  di- 
vine revelation,  to  the  beloved  apostle  St.  John; 
who  says,  "I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  say- 
ing unto  me,  write.  Blessed  are  the  dead,  who 
die  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth:'**  i.  e.  immedi- 
ately, or  at  the  moment  of  their  death. 

♦Various  have  been  the  opinions  of  Commentators,  with  res- 
pect to  an  apparent  ambiguity,  as  to  the  period  referred  to  by  this 
expression  "from  henceforth:" — some  referring  it  to  the  severe 
persecution,  which,  it  was  revealed  to  the  evany;eUst,  would  l^e 
permitted  to  try  tiie  faith  of  the  saints,  the  true  servants  of  God,  in 
the  latter  claijSy  when  Satan  should  exert  his  utmost  power, 
and  make  his  last  and  greatest  effort  against  the  kingdom  of  God 
amongst  men ;  or,  against  the  inHucnce  of  the  faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus ; 
when,  as  St.  John  expresses  it,  "  the  Devil  shall  come,  having  great 
wrath,  because  he  knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short  lime  :"  and  that, 
therefore,  those  sincere  Christians  who  shall  die  in  the  full  ajid  true 
belief  and  profession  of  their  faith,  b'^/ord  that  awful  period,  were  to 


22 


By  dying  in  the  Lord  is  to  be  understood. 
1.  The  dying  in  a  state  of  union  with  him,  as 
stedlcist  beUevers  in  his  mediation  and  cfFec- 


hc  accounted  blessed^  because  exempted  from  the  severe  distresses 
and  (riols,  v/!\ich,  in  the  infini'uly  wise  economy  of  Providence, 
Were  preordained,  as  of  necessary  occuirence,  und  would  then  be 
perruitted  to  exist. 

Otiikr  expositors  of  this  portion  of  the  saci-cd  Canon,  consider 
the  declaration,  as  altofjether  applicable  to  that  particular  period  of 
Chiu'cli  History,  when  a  r.. formation  from  the  errors  and  corrup- 
tions of  Popeiy,  both  in  doctrine  and  dicipiine,  was  effected  in  the 
visil)le  churcli  of  Clirist,  by  Lutlier  and  his  protestant adherents. 

Othkrs  are  of  opiiiion,  that  it  should  only  i)c  taken  in  immedi- 
ate connection  with  the  plinise,  dying  in  qt  for  the  Lord ;  and  would 
therefore  confine  it  to  those,  "wuo  evinced  the  sincerity  of  their  faith 
by  'suffering  inartijrdjmy  rather  than  relinquish  their  attachment  to 
Christianity. 

Others  again  assert,  that  the  words  "from  henceforth"  are  of 
more  general  siq-nification,  and  is  an  expression  synonymous  with 
immediatelj  ;  that  is,  from  the  moment  of  their  death,  those  who  die 
in  the  Lord,  or  in  the  true  faith  of  Christianity — shall  be  blessed,  and 
enter  into  rest ;  this  opinion  appears  to  be  strengthened,  by  consi- 
dering the  preceding  verses;  in  which  the  power  of  antichrist  is 
descri!)ed,  and  the  most  dreadful  punishment  denounced  against 
those  *^wlio  worship  the  beast  and  his  image."  And  as  a  belief 
in  Pnrgatoiy  or  an  intermediate  state  of  purification  between  death 
and  judgn»ent,  is  one  of  the  tenets  held  by  some,  tiiis  soleitm  as.sur^ 
ance  by  a  voice  from  Heaven  (after  the  pmphetic  vision  of  Anti- 
christ) appears  to  be  partindarly  diixxttd  against  that  erroneous 
doctrine,  and  accordingly  the  Church  from  which  we  are  descend- 
ed expressly  condemns  it  in  her  22  article. 

In  this  sense  also  tlic  compilers  of  our  Liturgy  certainly  under- 
«lood  the  passage,  oihcnvise  they  would  not  have  inserted  it  into  the 


25 


taal  intercession ;  after  becoming  members  of 
his  mystical  body,  the  Church,  by  Baptism. 

"Neither  pray  I."  said  Christ  himself,  just 
before  he  suffered;  'Mieither  pray  I  for  these/ 
my  Apostles,  ''alone,  but  for  them  also,  who 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word;  that 
they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in 
me,  and  I  in  thee ;  that  they  also  may  be  one 
in  us:  that  the  world  may  believe,  that  thou 
hast  sent  me :  And  the  glory,  which  tliou  ga- 
vest  me,  I  have  given  them;  that  they  may  be 
ont^  even  as  we  are  one :  I  in  them,  and  thou 
in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one ; — 
that  the  love  wherev/ith  thou  hast  loved  me 
may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them."  * 

2.  Such  may  be  considered  as  living,  and,  by 
"enduring  unto  the  end,"t  ^s  clyijig  in  the  Lord^ 

Burial  service,  and  have  transposed  the  ori<^inal  construction  of  the 
sentence,  so  as  clearly  to  render  it  of  ^-t^n^Ta/api'licationjUJul  une- 
qiiivocaliy  to  convey  that  meaning. 

Vv  iTH  deference,  ti^erefore,  to  such  rcKpectable  authorities  as 
support  tlie  firccccfifig  opinions,  I  am  inclined  to  subscribe  to  the 
latter  interpretation,  as  most  consonant  to  reason,  to  the  general 
tenor  of  Scripture,  and  to  the  evident  scope  of  the  passage  in  the 
oriijinal,  when  taken  in  connection  with  llu-.  verves,  which  it  imme- 
diately follows-. 

*John  ir,  eo.  21.  ?.":.  i:„    \lsU\h.  lo.  2'j. 


24 


who  have  faithfully  employed  their  time  and 
talents,  during  their  period  of  probation  here, 
in  endeavouring  to  know  the  will  of  the  Lord, 
by  searching  the  Holy  Scriptures;  in  striving 
to  regulate  their  sentiments  and  actions  accord- 
ing to  their  dictates;  and  in  uniform  exertions 
to  promote  the  public  weal. 

3.  By  dying  in  the  Lord^is  to  be  considered, 
the  dying  in  a  public  profession  of  faith  in 
Christ.  "Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  my  Father 
who  is  in  heaven."*  And,  "  Whosoever  shall  be 
ashamed  of  me,  and  of  my  words,  of  him  shall  the 
Son  of  man  be  ashamed,  when  he  shall  com.e 
in  his  own  glory,  and  in  his  Father's,  and  of  the 
holy  angels. "t  Faith  is  the  last  gi'ace  acted 
upon  by  the  dying  Christian:  it  supports  his 
hopes,  because  it  shews  him  a  faithful  Sciviour, 
and  a  merciful  and  reconciled  God. 

4 .  They  may  be  said  to  die  in  tJic  Lord^  who 
imitate  Christ's  dying  example,  in  patience  and 
resignation  to  tlie  divine  will,  and  in  devoutly 

•  Milt.  10.  .32.         t  Luki-  9.  '25. 


25 


commending  their  spirits  unto  God.  "And 
when  Jesus  had  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  he  said, 
Father  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit : 
and  having  said  thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost."* 
Such  are  the  blessed,  who,  by  uniting  these 
qualifications,  "  die  in  the  Lord,"  and  happily 
"  rest  from  their  labours."  They  enjoy  a  ces- 
sation from  the  toils  and  perplexities  of  human 
life,  and  a  relief  from  its  vexations  and  afhic- 
tions.  They  escape  from  the  seductions  of 
pleasure,  and  the  insatiable  cravings  of  ambi- 
tion; from  harrassing  doubts  and  fears;  from 
party  contentions ;  from  the  treachery  of  pre- 
tended friends,  and  the  envy,  hatred,  and  malice, 
of  open  enemies;  from,  "  disease  and  sor- 
row's weeping  train ;"  from  the  iron  scourge  of 
ingratitude,  and  the  torturing  pangs  of  disap- 
pointed hope.  They  rest  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the  immediate  presence  of  God,  of  a  visible  in- 
tercourse with  their  Saviour,  and  of  an  associ- 
ation with  angels  and  archangels,  and  "with 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect."!  In  a  word : 

*Mut.  23.  45.     t  Heb.  12.  23. 


9i9 


they  rest,  in  the  full  fruition  of  the  most  refined 
and  perfect  felicity. 

\^\Kious  indeed  are  tlie  modes,  in  which  the 
king  of  terrors  exercises  his  power  over  the 
human  race;  the  most  lamentable  and  distress- 
ing of  which  is  that,  whereby  he  renders  men 
the  agents  of  their  own  dissolution ;  either  by 
the  perpetration  of  wililil  Suicide^  or  by  the 
equally  atrocious  act  of  Duelling* — a  practice 
which,  notwithstanding  the  explicit  and  positive 
prohibition  of  divine  and  human  laws,  frequent- 
ly prevails  in  the  most  civilized  nations,  and 
even  amongst  those  who  profess,  and  call  them- 
selves Christians. — A  practice  so  deeply  rooted, 
and  so  generally  acquiesced  in,  so  interwoven 
with  the  respect  and  esteem  of  our  fellow  men, 

•The  criminality  of  both  tlicsc  jn-actices  inust  be  evident  to 
every  rcilcclinc:^  inind,  whether  ihcy  arc  viewed  throiii;hlhe  medium 
of  reason,  or  relif^ion.  The  horror  which  is  experienced,  and  tlie  uni- 
versal reprobation  whicli  is  expressed,  on  hearinj^  of  an  act  of  a///- 
cicICf  will  ever  render  it  an  act  of  r.u'e  commission  in  ci\i!izcd  socie- 
ty. Whereas,  to  the  practice  of  dudlirir^  though  not  less  crin)i- 
lul  in  its  nioiivc,  subversive  of  the  happiness  of  society  in  its  opera- 
lion,  or  fatal  in  its  inniicnre  and  e{Te:ts,  the  potent  and  almost 
irresistible  anthoiiiy  of  custoin,  (ctnd  that  originating  in  barbarism 
and  superstition),  has  Ionj»  jifivcn  und  still  continues  to  ^^ivc  a  sane- 
lion,   which   is  univei-sally    received  and  in>pHcitly  subniilted  to. 


:di 


as  often  not  to  be  resisted,  but  under  pain  of 
forfeiting  these,  and  the  abiUty  of  future  use- 
fulness in  life.  A  practice,  moreover,  which  I 
am  sorry  to  observe,  is  rapidly  gaining  ground, 
and  its  advocates  daily  increasing  amongst  us ; 
though  it  is  known  to  be  an  act,  replete  with 
danger  and  distress^  ferocious  in  its  nature,  sa- 
vage in  its  operation,  and  impiously  antichris- 
tian  in  its  principle. 

I  AM  well  aware,  that  even  under  the  ac- 
knowledged consciousness  of  its  enormity,  du- 
elling is  defended,  on  the  ground  of  unavoidable 
necessity ;  its  supporters  alleging,  that  there  are 
some  offences  of  so  peculiar  a  nature,  as,  though 
in  th^  highest  degree  irritating  and  injurious,  do 
not  come  under  the  cognizance  of  the  establish- 
ed laws,  and  which  call  for  immediate  re- 
dress.*    But  this  is  an  argument,  false,  both 


*  For  the  suggestion  of  the  following  Law  authority,  and  the 
arguments  by  which  it  is  controverted,  I  am  indebted  to  a  learned 
and  ingenious  friend. 

The  practice  of  duelling  receives  the  following  defence  from  Mr. 
Vattcl^  an  author  celebrated  through  the  world  for  his  accurate  trea- 
tise on  the  law  of  nations.    "This  honour"  says  he  "be  it  as  false 

D 


28 


in  its  origin  and  application,  because  found- 
ed   upon    assumed    premises — an    argument 


and  chimerical  as  you  "please,  is  a  very  real  and  necessary  blessing  ; 
since  without  it  a  man  can  neither  live  well  with  his  equals, 
nor  exercise  a  profession  that  is  often  his  only  resoftrcc.  When 
therefore  a  man  of  a  brutish  disposition  would  unjustly  ravish  from 
liini  a  chimera  so  esteemed,  and  so  necessary,  why  may  he  not 
defend  it  as  he  would  liis  life  and  treasure  against  a  robber  ?  As  the 
state  does  not  permit  an  individual  to  pursue  with  arms  in  his 
hands  the  usurper  of  his  fortune,  only  because  he  may  obtain  jus- 
tice from  the  magistrate ;  so  if  the  sovereign  will  not  allow  him  to 
draw  his  sword  against  him  from  whom  he  has  received  an  insult, 
he  ought  necessarily  to  take  such  measures  that  the  patience  and 
obedience  insulted  be  no  prejudice  to  him.  The  society  cannot  de- 
prive man  of  his  natural  right  of  makijig  war  against  a7i  aggressor ^ 
without  furnishing  him  ivith  another  means  of  securing  himself  from 
the  evil  his  enemy  would  do  him  ;  for  on  all  these  occasions,  where 
the  public  authority  cannot  letul  us  assistance^  we  resume  our  firimary 
right  of  natural  defence.  Thus  a  traveller  may  kill,  without  diflTiculty, 
the  robber  who  attacks  him  on  the  highway,  because,  at  that  in- 
stant he  would  in  vain  implore  the  protection  of  the  laws,  and  the 
magistrate." 

Vattel.  B.  I.  Ch.  XIII.  Sec  176. 
Tiiis  I  take  to  be  the  splendid  sophism,  by  which  alone  will  any 
man  of  sense  suffer  himself  to  be  deluded:  for,  as  to  those 
4^uerile  arguments  which  trtat  duelling  as  an  anomalous  mode  of 
punisliment,  or  a  just  revenge,  they  are  at  once  too  silly  and  too 
impious  to  ensnare  one  person  of  a  strong  understanding.  But  U) 
^lis  there  is  a  conclusive  answer;  one  indeed  to  which  a  Christian 
will  not  condescend,  because  he  looks  with  a  single  eye  to  the  i)ar- 
aniount  oixlinances  of  his  religion, — the  authority  of  his  Cod  ;  and 
spurns  the  influence  of  a  prejudice  by  which  society  would  under- 
mine the  Gospel:   but  one  which  men  of  fashion,  and  of  mere 


29 


too,  which  neither  the  Philanthropist  nor  the 
Deist — and  much  less  the  Christian — can  possi- 
bly reconcile  with  his  articles  of  faith,  or  mo- 

■vvcrldly  calculation  may  listen  to,  because  It  destroys  the  whole 
foundation  of  the  sophism.  It  is  this — a  man  cannot  be  reduced 
to  the  state  of  nature  so  as  to  justify  a  private  war  for  any  thing 
whicli  in  a  state  of  nature  is  not  an  adequate  offence  :  and  for  this 
reason  ;  if  he  be  considered  in  a  state  of  nature  as  to  the  war,  he 
must  be  so  as  to  the  ground  of  the  war ;  and  if  that  ground  be  not 
a  good  one,  the  right  of  war  of  course  fails.  To  exempliry — •! 
am  in  a  state  of  nature  to  execute  justice  on  the  highway  robber; 
because,  in  a  stale  of  nature  such  a?i  attack  would  be  a  good 
ground  for  such  a  resistance,  and  such  an  a?,saalt  upon  the  pci-son 
could  only  be  defeated  by  the  destruction  of  the  assailant.  Eut  if 
a  man  calls  me  a  coward^  for  which  civil  law  will  give  me  no  re- 
dress, and  I  am  restored,  as  Vattel  supposes,  to  a  state  of  nature, 
for  what  purpose  is  this  ?  Why  surely  for  nothing  but  to  get  re- 
dress for  an  action,  which,  by  reason  alone  of  my  union  with  society 
cr\n  do  m.e  any  injury.  This  is  plainly  contrary  to  Vattel's  rea- 
soning, for  he  grounds  his  position  on  this  maxim  ;  "  that  society 
cannot  dcjirive  him  of  his  natural  right.  Now  v/hat  natural  right 
has  a  man  to  take  the  life  of  one  who  calls  him  a  coward?  of  one 
\vhoi}isiUti;\\\m  I  surely  none.  And  here  lies  the  fallacy  in  Vattel's 
argument ,-  that  he  supposes  this  ofience  against  courtesy,  and 
politeness,  which  is  so  ruinous  to  a  man  in  the  pi  esent  state  of  so- 
ciety, is  actually  an  offence  by  the  Law  of  Nature.  It  has  not  been 
deemed  an  offence  of  this  magnitude  in  many  states  of  society 
equally  refined  as  the  present ;  it  owes  its  consequence  to  the  pre- 
posterous pride  of  cowards,  v»ho  have  formed  a  sufiicient  majonty 
to  impose  the  sentiment  upon  brave  men ;  and  so  far  from  being 
an  offence  in  a  state  of  nature,  if  we  can  conceive  of  such  a  state, 
bravery  is  a  virtue  which  derives  its  ivhoU  consideration  from  sod- 
etij.    In  a  state  of  nature  no  one  could  be  reproached  as  a  coward, 


30 


tives  of  action :  for,  can  any  occurrence  ever 
justify  a  wilful  violation  of  the  divine  laws,  or 
of  the  immutable  principles  of  justice  and  hu- 
manity? In  such  cases,  however,  as  well  indeed 
as  in  all,  did  the  dictates  of  genuine  benevo- 
lence, and  Christian  forbearance  operate  as  they 
ought  in  the  human  breast,  as  no  wilful  offence 
would  be  given,  of  course,  such  fatal  conse- 
quences would  never  exist.  Let,  therefore,  the 
injunctions  of  Christianity  and  Philanthropy  be- 


because  until  men  are  someliow  united,  this  weakness  is  pernicious 
to  no  one,  hut  the  individual  of  whom  it  is  predicated.  I  speak  as 
to  what  may  be  called  the  philosophical  state  of  nature,  where 
every  man  is  independent  of  his  fellow.  As  to  our  sava[j;es,  with 
whom  bravely  is  of  p^reat  account,  they  arc  so  far  removed  from 
the  state  of  nature  contemplated,  as  upon  some  points  to  be  mo- 
rally superior  to  the  boasted ^rn^/rwr;:  of  cultivated  cities  ;  and  they 
esteem  courage  more  than  any  thinjr  else,  from  tl»e  very  circumstance 
(hat  their  social  connection  depends  principally  upon  it.  It  may 
not  be  inapplicable  perhaps  to  remark,  that,  among  these  truly 
brave  people  who  idolize  courage,  single  combat,  hy  individuals  of 
the  same  trii)e,  is  not  known.  I  am  therefore  justified  in  answering 
Vattel,  that  although  "  society  cannot  deprive  man  of  his  natural  right 
of  making  war  against  an  aggressor,  without  funiishing  him  wiili 
anotlier  means  of  seeming  himself  fmm  the  evil  his  enemy 
would  do  him,"  yet,  for  the  ofl'ences  which  stimulate  men  of  ho- 
nour to  a  duel,  there  is  uofiaturai  rightof  defence  :  in  the  code  of  na- 
lui*e  such  oflences  cannot  exist — they  grow  out  of  society  ;  and 
therefore  if  there  were  a  right  of  defence,  it  would  want  a  corre- 
lative;  whicii  would  be  an  absurdity. 


31 


gin  their  operation,  by  preventing  offences  of 
such  a  nature,  and  by  conciliatory  efforts  to  ap- 
pease resentment  against  them  when  commit- 
ted; thereby  removing  from  the  offender  the  im- 
putation of  all  the  consequent  mischief  and  mise- 
ry, of  which  he  might  otherwise  be  considered 
as  the  author.* 


*  Though  duellinc^  cannot  be  justified,  in  any  degree,  under 
any  provocation,  yet  let  it  be  remembered,  with  respect  to  the 
ILLUSTRIOUS  VICTIM,  whose  Untimely  death  wc uowjustly  deplore, 
that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mason,  who  attended  him  on  his  death  bed,  testi- 
fies, "  he  declared  his  abhorrence  of  the  whole  transaction,  and 
repeated  his  disavowal  of  all  intention  to  hurt  Col.  Burr."  "It  was 
always,"  added  he,  "  against  my  principles.  I  used  every  expedi- 
ent to  avoid  the  interview ;  but  I  have  found,  for  some  time  past, 
that  my  life  must  be  exposed  to  that  man.  I  went  to  the  field  de- 
termined not  to  take  his  life." 

And,  in  a  paper  \vritten  with  his  own  hand,  inclosed  with  his  will, 
in  a  packet  addressed  to  one  of  his  executors,  to  be  opened  in  case 
of  his  death,  are  the  following  singular  and  decisive  assertions. 
*'  My  religious  and  moral  principles  are  strongly  opposed  to  the 
practice  of  duelling,  and  it  would  ever  give  me  pain,  to  be  obliged 
to  shed  the  blood  of  a  fellow  creature,  in  a  piivate  combat  forbidden 
by  the  laws." 

"  The  disavowal  required  of  me  by  Col.  Burr,  in  a  general  and 
indefinite  form,  was  out  of  my  power,  if  it  had  really  been  proper 
for  me  to  submit  to  be  so  questioned." 

"  I  AM  not  sure  whether,  under  all  the  circumstances,  I  did  not 
go  further  in  the  attempt  to  accommodate,  than  a  punctilious  de- 
licacy will  justily.  If  so,  I  hope  tlie  n\otives  I  have  stated  will 
excuse  ms." 


32 


"  By  this  infamous  vice  of  duelling,"  says 
a  celebrated  modern  jurist,*  "  how  is  the 
name  of  Honour  prostituted !  Can  honour 
be  the  savage  resolution,  the  brutal  fierce- 
ness of  a  revengeful  spirit  ?  True  honour  is 
manifested  in  a  steady,  vmiform  train  of  actions, 
attended  by  justice,  and  directed  by  prudence. 
Is  this  the  conduct  of  the  duellist?  Will  justice 
support  him  in  robbing  the  community  of  an 
able  and  useful  member,  and  in  depriving  the 
poor  of  a  benefactor?  Will  it  support  him  in 
preparing  affliction  for  the  widow's  heart — in 
filling  the  orphan's  eyes  with  tears?  Will  jus- 
tice acquit  him  for  enlarging  the  punishment 
beyond  the  oifcnce  ?  Will  it  permit  him  for,  per- 
haps, a  rash  word  that  may  admit  of  an  apolo- 
gy, an  unadvised,  inconsiderate  action  that  may 
be  retrieved,  or  an  injury  that  may  be  compen- 
sated, to  cut  off  a  man  before  his  days  be  half 
numbered?   and  for  a  temporary  fault  inflict  an 

•  Mr.  IIornf.,  in  the  Island  of  St.  Clirislophers,  as 
council  for  the  prosecution  of  Mr.  Ikuhot  for  the  death  of  Mr. 
Mills,  1753.  \idc.  K.  Jcrninj^ham's  Essay  prcfi.xed  to  his  select 
Sermons  of  Boss-  (.t-—C:r.  8  vo.  I  SOI.  or,  Slate  Trials  vol.  10,  p.  139. 


33 


endless  punishment? — On  the  other  hand,  will 
prudence  bear  him  out  in  risking  an  infamous 
death"  as  a  murderer^  which  would  be  the 
case  if  our  laws  wtrt  properly  put  in  execution,* 
"if  he  succeeds  in  the  duel?  But,  if  he  falls- 
will  it  plead  his  pardon  at  a  more  awful  tribu- 
nal, for  rushing  into  the  presence  of  an  ojffended 
God?"  in  defiance  of  his  dispensations,  and, 
"with  all  his  imperfections  on  his  head." 

"Duelling  seems  to  be  an  unnatural  graft 
upon  genuine  courage,  and  the  growth  of  a 
barbarous  age.  The  polite  nations  of  *Greece 
and  Rome  knew  nothing  of  it:  they  reserved 
their  bravery  for  the  enemies  of  their  country; 


*  It  is  a  circumstance  much  to  be  lamented  by  us,  that  though 
laws  which  proiiibit  duels  exist  in  many  of  the  states  under  the  se- 
verest penalties,  yet,  as  the  jurisdiction  of  an  individual  state  ex- 
tends no  further  than  its  own  immediate  territory,  aggressors  com- 
mitting the  offence  beyond  the  boundary  line,  are  also  considered 
as  beyond  the  oi)eration  of  its  lavvs.  Hence,  duels  are  fought  by 
the  citizens  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  on  the  shores  of  New 
Jersey  ;  and  thus  are  necessary  and  well-meant  laws  evaded :  nay, 
even  when  the  issue  of  a  duel  proves  fatal  to  one  of  the  parties, 
the  MURDERER  is  suffered  to  range  at  large,  unpunished,  unpur- 
sued. 


34 


and  then  were  prodigal  of  iheir  blood.  These 
brave  people  set  Honour  up  as  the  guardian 
genius  of  the  public,  to  humanize  their  passions, 
to  preserve  their  truth  unblemished,  and  to 
teach  them  to  value  life  only  as  useful  to  their 
country.  The  modem  licroes  dress  it  up  like 
one  of  the  demons  of  superstition,  besmeared 
with  blood,  and  delighting  in  human  sacrifice.'* 
Against  this  irreligious  and  inhuman  prac- 
tice, I  have  so  recently  expatiated  in  this 
place,*  that  I  should  not  so  soon  again  call 
your  attention  to  it,  were  it  not  in  compliance 
with  the  late  public  request  of  a  large  and  tru- 
ly respectable  association  of  our  fellow  citizens ; 
in  consequence  of  a  justly  deplored  occurrence, 
by  which  a  virtuous  and  amiable  family  have 
suddenly  been  deprived  of  an  affectionate 
friend,  protector,  and  guide ;  and  our  country, 
of  a  wise,  vigilant,  active,  and  illustrious  states- 
man, t 

•  In  a  scniion,  preached  March  18,  1804. 

t  An  attempt  to  delineate  that  uncommon  assemblage  of  talents 
and  virtues  \\h\d\  formed  his  churacler,  would  be  equally  feeble 
and  unnecessary,  after  those  just,  miiuite,  and  eloquent  tributes  of 
respect  which  have    already  been  given  to  the  world  by  so  many 


35 


That  so  irrational  and  impious  a  custom, 
which  originated  in  the  early  ages  of  igno- 
rance, superstition,  and  Gothic  barbarism, 
should  prevail  and  be  conformed  to,  by  men  emi- 
nent for  wisdom  and  integrity,  in  the  present 
enlightened  day,  is,  indeed,  truly  astonishing. 

The  decision  of  controversy  by  single  com- 
bat, and  the  attestation  of  truth  by  what  was 
called  the  Ordeal  trial,  were  accommodated  to 
the  rude  manners  of  an  uncivilized  and  fero- 
cious people.  But,  when  reason  assumed  her 
empire,  when  arts,  industry,  science,  philoso- 
phy, and  religion,  began  gradually  to  expand  and 
illuminate  the  human  mind,  to  restrain  the  indul- 
gence of  the  passions,  to  refine  and  elevate  the 
affections,  to  polish  the  manners,  and  to  puri- 
fy the  heart; — it  might  naturally  be  supposed 
that  a  practice  so  absurd,  so  contrary  to  the 
principles  of  social  union,  of  morality,  and  of  re- 

of  our  most  distinguished  civilians  and  divines,  particularly  that 
which  flowed  from  the  benevolent  heart,  the  sagacious  head, 
and  the  fluent  pen,  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Mason,  who  enjoyed  the  hon- 
ourable distinction  of  being  appointed  by  the  Society  of  Cincinnati, 
in  New  York,  to  pronounce  an  Oration  commemorative  of  their 
revered  President,  Major  Gen.  Alexander  Hamilton. 

E 


ligion,  would  certainly  have  been  suppressed 
andabhorrcd :  and  such,  in  all  probability,  would 
have  been  the  case,  had  not  the  institution  of 
Chivalrj",  originally  benevolent  and  honourable 
in  its  principles,  and  expressly  intended  to  res- 
train and  abolish  so  pernicious  and  ferocious  a 
custom,  been  carried  to  the  opposite  extreme  of 
fantastic  refinement  and  extravagant  excess; 
which,  though  in  some  degi'ee  corrected  through 
succeeding  periods  of  time,  still,  in  a  qualified 
form,  continues  to  produce  occasionally  the  most 
fatal  eff'ects.* 


•"  Humanity  spninj^  from  the  bosom  of  Violence^  and  l^clicf 
from  the  hand  of  Rapacity.  Those  licentious  and  tyrannic  nobles, 
who  had  been  guilty  of  every  species  of  outrage,  and  every  mode 
of  oppression,  touched,  at  last,  by  a  sense  of  natural  equity,  and 
swayed  by  the  conviction  of  a  common  interest,  formed  associa- 
tions for  the  redress  of  private  wrongs,  and  the  preservation  of 
public  safety.  So  honourable  was  the  origin  of  an  institution  gen- 
rally  represented  as  whimsical ! 

"  That  the  spirit  of  Chivalry  sometimes  rose  to  an  extravagant 
height,  and  had  often  a  pernicious  tendency,  nuist  however  be  al- 
lowed. In  Spain,  under  the  influence  of  a  romantic  gallantry,  it 
gave  birth  to  a  series  of  wild  adventures,  which  have  been  deser- 
vedly ridiculed  :  in  the  train  of  Norman  ambition,  it  extinguished 
the  liberties  of  England,  and  deluged  Italy  in  blood ;  and  at  ilie 
call  of  Superstition,  and  as  the  engine  of  papil  power,  it  desolated 
Asia  under  the  bvU.ncr  of  the  Cross.     But  thcsj  ought  not  to  be 


S7 


Frequent,  yet  inejffectual,  have  been  the 
efforts  made  by  the  edicts  of  Kings,  the  de- 
cisions of  Councils,  and  the  requisitions  of  Ec- 
clesiastical Canons.*     Neither  the  laws  of  God 


considered  as  arguments  against  an  institution  laudable  in  itself, 
and  necessary  at  the  time  of  its  institution :  and  those  who  pretend 
to  despise  it,  the  advocates  of  ancient  barbarism  and  ancient  rusticity, 
ought  to  remember,  that  chivalry  not  only  first  taught  mankind  to 
carry  the  civilities  of  peace  into  the  operations  of  war,  and  to  min- 
gle politeness  with  the  use  of  the  sword,  but  roused  the  humian 
soul  from  its  lethargy,  invigorated  the  human  character,  even  while 
it  softened  it,  and  produced  exploits  which  antiquity  cannot  par- 
allel. It  is  therefore  entitled  to  our  gratitude,  though  the  point  of 
honour,  and  the  refinements  in  gallantry,  its  more  doubtful  effects, 
should  be  excluded  from  the  improvements  in  modern  manners." 
Russel's  Hist,  of  Modern  Europe,  Let.  XVIII. 
*  Philip  the  fair,king  of  France,  in  the  thirteenth  Century,  appeal's 
to  have  been  the  first  monarch  wiio  endeavoured  to  suppress  this 
pernicious  and  fatal  practice,  which  then  existed  under  the  appel- 
lation oi  judicial  combat.  The  military  spirit  of  the  times,  however, 
M'ould  not  permit  him  to  proceed  further  than  a  regulation  of  that 
mode  of  contest ;  by  which  it  was  declared,  that  nothing  was  to  be 
brought  to  that  bloody  issue,  which  could  be  determined  by  any 
other  means.  Henry  the  H,  who  succeeded  Francis  I — in  1 547, 
published  an  edict  prohibiting,  under  the  severest  penalties,  the 
decision  of  controversy  by  duelling.  During  the  reign  of  Henry 
IV,  of  France,  the  illustrious  Sully  exerted  all  his  influence  with 
that  monarch,  totally  to  abolish  so  ferocious  a  practice  :  accor- 
dingly, an  edict  for  the  severe  punishment  of  duelling,  was  published 
at  Blois  in  the  year  1 602,  and  this  edict  was  renewed,  with  additional 
severities,  in  1609.  The  purport  of  it  was  as  follows  :  "  Both  chal- 
lenger and  challenged,  with  their  seconds,  are  made  guilty  of  Ixse 
majesty,  and  are  to  be  punished  with  death,  anclconfiscatign  of  goo;Js. 


38 


nor  man,  have  hitherto  been  able  to  extinguish 
tliat  false  and  frantic  principle  of  imaginary- 


All  the  great  officers  and  magistrates  of  France,  military  and  civil, 
arc  required  to  publish  and  execute  this  edict  in  tiieir  several  juris- 
dictions, and  are  empowered  to  judge  the  differences,  uhich  occa- 
sion duels.  If  the  complainer  of  any  affront  refuse  to  accept  the  sa- 
tisfaction these  officers  appoint,  or  the  offender  refuse  to  comply 
with  it,  he  is  to  be  imprisoned." 

Vide,  Cockburne  on  duelling,  P.  344,  and  the  autho- 
rities he  quotes. 

Thk  following  extract  is  from  Cockbunie  on  duelling  P.  343. 
"  As  modern  duels  began  and  were  first  indulged  in  l-'rance,  so  in 
no  place  have  there  been  so  many  and  so  severe  edicts  against 
them,  to  which  the  government  there  has  been  forced  by  the  con- 
tinual mischiefs  which  happened  from  them,  and  the  great  dispo- 
sition of  the  people  towards  them,  which  then  was  so  great,  that 
Mons.  Montaigne  says  "  he  believes,  if  tlirce  Frenchmen  were  put 
into  the  Lybian  desert,  they  would  not  be  a  month  there 
without  fighting  ;"  and  Mons.  Hardouin  de  Perefix,  Bishop  of 
Rhodes,  observes,  in  his  life  of  Henry  IV,  "that  the  madncssof  duels 
seized  the  spirits  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  so  much,  that  they  lost 
more  blood  by  their  own  hands  in  times  of  peace,  than  had  been 
shed  by  their  enemies  in  battle." 

In  the  reign  of  Lewis  XIII,  no  less  than  three  edicts  were  issued 
declaratory  against  duels.  "In  the  year  1679,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Moore,  in  a  Treatise  on  this  subject,  "Lewis  XIV,  issued  that  famous 
proclamation,  wliich  effected  more  than  all  his  predecessors  could 
obtain,  and  wiiicli  contributed  in  so  great  a  degree  to  the  suppres- 
sion of  all  regular  and  outrageous  duels  in  France.  Two  i)oints 
seem  more  especially  to  have  contributed  to  give  stal)ility  to  this 
edict — viz.  the  solemn  aifrrcnicnt  entered  into  'Jnj  so  many  of  the 
principal  nobility  and  gcntnj  of  (he  kingdom  "  that  they  would 
never  fifht  a  duel  under  any  firetence  ii'hat soever^''  and  the  frmnet* 
of  t/ic  Ainify  in  rtfuaintf  all  solicitations  in  behalf  of  the  ojfaidcrs** 


39 


honour,  which  hath  so  long  pervaded,  and  still 
pervades  the  civilized  world  :    nor  will,  I  fear, 


"The  challenger  and  challenged  (if  they  accept)  are,  by  this 
edict,  declared  liable  to  heavy  fines,  imprisonments,and  confiscations, 
even  if  they  proceed  not  to  the  combat ;  and  also  seconds  the 
same.  But  if  fighting  follows,  the  combatants  are  both  to  l)e  put 
to  death  without  pardon  ;  all  their  estates  real  and  personal  to  be 
forfeited  ;  and  their  bodies  not  to  be  allowed  christian  burial.  If  one 
fall  in  the  combat,  the  process  against  his  body  and  memory  to  be 
the  same." 

Augustus,  King  of  Poland,  in  1712,  published  a  severe  edict 
against  duelling  consisting  of  sixty-two  articles — for  which,  see 
Cockburne.  In  England,  the  great  Sir  Francis  Bacon  as  strenu- 
ously exerted  himself  against  duelling  in  the  court  of  James  I,  as 
Sully  did  in  that  of  Henry  I\^,  and  prohibitory  proclamations  were 
accordingly  issued  by  that  monarch. 

In  the  year  1654,  Cromwell's  parliament  passed  an  ordinance  "for 
preventing  and  punishing  duels,  and  all  provocations  thereto  ;"  in 
which  it  was  declared  "  that  if  any  person  should  challenge  or  cause 
to  be  challenged,  or  accept,  or  knowingly  carry  a  challenge  to 
fight  a  (Kiel,  he  should  be  committed  to  prison  without  bail  for  six 
months,  and  give  security  for  his  good  behaviour  for  one  whole 
year  after.  Persons  challenged,  not  discovering  it  in  twenty-four 
hours,  to  be  deemed  acceptors.  Fighting  a  duel,  where  death 
should  ensue,  to  be  adjudged  murder.  Fighting  a  duel  upon  pre- 
ceding challenge,  being  a  second,  or  assisting  therein,  though 
death  should  not  ensue  thereupon,  to  be  banished  for  life  within 
one  month  after  conviction,  and,  in  case  of  return,  to  suffer  death. 
Persons  using  provoking  words  or  gestures,  to  be  indicted;  and  if 
convicted  to  be  fined,  bound  to  good  behaviour,  and  to  make 
reparation  to  the  party  injured,  according  to  his  quality  and  the 
nature  of  the  offence." 

Parliamentary  Hist.  Vol.  XX.  P.  31 1. 
The  high  spirited  cavaliers  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  rcviv- 


40 


its  influence  be  destroyed,  until  reason  shall 
assert  and  maintain  her  rights  against  the  tyran- 


cd  that  disposition  for  duelling  vliich  liad  in  some  degree  become 
dormant.  Charles  II,  therefore  ibsued  the  following  prochimalion. 
Charlks  R. 
"Whkreas  it  is  become  too  frequent,  especially  with  persons 
of  quality,  under  a  vain  pretence  of  iionour,  to  take  upon  them  to 
be  tile  revengers  of  their  private  quarrels,  by  duel  and  single  com- 
bat, which  ought  not  be  upon  any  pretence  or  provocation  whatso- 
ever; we,  considering  that  the  sin  of  murder  is  detestable  before 
God,  and  this  way  of  prosecuting  satisfaction  scandalous  to  the 
Christian  religion,  and  a  manifest  violation  of  our  laws  and  author- 
ity— out  of  our  pious  care  to  prevent  unchristian  and  rash  effusion 
of  blood,  do,  by  this  our  royal  proclamation,  strictly  charge  aiul 
command  all  our  loving  subjects  of  what  quality  soever,  that  they 
do  not,  either  by  themselves  or  by  others,  by  message,  word,  wri- 
ting, or  other  ways  or  means,  challenge,  or  cause  to  be  challenged, 
any  person  or  persons  to  fight  in  combat,  or  single  duel,  nor  carry, 
accept,  or  conceal  any  such  challenge  or  appointment,  nor  actually 
fight  any  such  duel,  with  any  of  our  subjects  or  others,  or  as  a 
second,  or  othei*wise  accompany  or  become  assistant  therein. 
And  we  do  hereby — to  the  intent  that  all  persons  may  take  care  to 
prevent  the  dangers  they  may  incur,  by  acting  or  assisting  in  ai>y 
such  duel — declare  our  royal  pleasure,  that  we  will  not  grant  our 
pardon  to  any  person  or  persons  that  shall  fight,  or  be  any  way  aid- 
ing or  concerned  in  any  duel,  where  any  person  shall  be  slain,  or 
die  of  his  wounds  received  therein  ;  but  w  ill  leave  all  such  persons 
to  the  utmost  rigour  and  severity  of  the  laws:  and  further,  that  we 
will  not  suffer  or  endure  any  persons  to  be  or  remain  in  our  court, 
who  shall  presume  to  intercede  in  the  belialf  of  any  person  or  per- 
sons that  shall  offend  contrary  to  this  our  proclamation.  And  for 
the  better  avoiding  all  such  duels,  we  do  hereby  struightly  charge 
and  command  all  persons  whatsoever,  who  shall  receive  or  know 
of  any  challenge  sent  or  delivered  as  aforesaid,  that  they  do  foithwlll\ 


41 


ny  of  fashion,  and  the  dogmas  of  superstition ; 
and  so  modify  and  enlarge  the  commonly  received 


give  notice  thereof  to  some  of  our  privy  council,  or  otherwise,  to 
st)me  justice  of  peace  near  the  place,  where  such  ofTence  shall  be 
committed;  upon  pain  of  our  highest  displeasure,  and  being  left  to 
be  proceeded  against  according  to  the  strictest  rigour  and  severity 
of  our  laws. 

Given  at  our  Court  at  Whitehall  the  9th  day  of  March,  1679. 
In  the  two  and  thirtieth  year  of  our  reign. 

London  Gazette,  March  11,  1679. 

A  Bill  against  duelling  was  brought  into  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  the  year  1713,  on  the  recommendation  of  Queen  Anne, 
who,  in  her  speech  from  the  throne,  told  the  parliament  "  the  im- 
pious practice  of  duelling  requires  some  speedy  and  effectual 
remedy." 

Such  were  some  of  the  efforts  made  by  the  civil  power,  in  dif- 
ferent countries  and  at  different  times,  to  suppress  this  barbarous 
and  bloody  practice  ;  but  their  inefficiency  generally  arose  from  the 
elevated  station  of  the  combatants,  (duelling  being  chiefly  practi- 
ced by  the  higher  and  most  polished  orders  in  society),  and  their 
consequent  influence  in  obtaining  pardons,  which  were  so  frequent- 
ly'and  easily  procured,  as  to  render  the  laws  on  that  head  nugatory. 

Nor  was  ecclesiastical  authority  wanting,  to  discountenance  and 
abolish  so  shameful  an  outrage  against  the  most  essential  princi- 
ples of  civilization  and  religion. 

The  Church,  at  various  periods,  issued  her  Canons,  and  fulminat- 
ed her  decrees,  against  an  act  so  diametrically  opposed  to  the  dic- 
tates of  Reason  and  the  precepts  of  Christianity. — The  Council  of 
Trent  passed  a  very  strict  Canon  against  all  manner  of  duelling,  de- 
claring it  to  be  "a  detestable  custom,  introduced  by  the  Devil  for 
the  destruction  Loth  of  body  and  soul ;  inhibiting  the  duel  through- 
out the  Christian  world,  as  most  unbecoming  Christians,  excom- 
municating not  only  ail  those  who  fought  themselves,  but  all  their 
associates,  and  even  the  spectators  of  the  battle ;  confiscating  all 


42 


principles  of  Honour,  as  to  render  a  participation 
in  a  duel,  cither  as  a  principal  or  secondary 
agent,  disgraceful  and  ignominious:*  and  until 

their  goods,  and  denying-  Christian  burial  to  those  Avho  were  killed 
in  a  duel,  as  being  self  murderers  in  fact.  All  advisers,  supporters, 
vvitnesses,  or  those  in  any  shape  concerned,  are  likewise  to  be  ex- 
communicated. Princes  also,  who  connive  at  duels,  are  to  be  de- 
prived of  all  temporal  power,  jurisdiction,  and  dominion  over  the 
places,  wliere  they  have  permitted  a  duel  to  be  fought." 

"Detestabilis  duellorum  usus  Hibricante  diabolo  introductus, 
ut  cruenta  corporum  morte,  animarum  etiam  pemiciem  lucretur, 
ex  christiano  orbe  penitus  exterminetur:  imperator,  duces,  prin- 
cipes,  marchiones,  comites,  et  quocunque  alio  nomine  domini 
temporales,  qui  locum  ad  monomachiam  in  terris  suis  inter 
christianos  concesserint,  co  ipso  sint  excommunicati,  ac  juris- 
dictione  et  dominio  civitatis,  castri  aut  loci,  in  quo  vel  apud 
quem,  duellum  fieri  premiserint,  quod  ah  eclesia  obtinent,  pri- 
vati  intelligantur :  clsi  feudaliasint,directis  dominis  stalim  acquiran- 
tur.  Qui  vero  pugnamcommiserint,  et  qui  eorum  ^'pairini"  vocan- 
tur  excommunicationis,  ac  omnium  bonorum  suorum  proscriptionis 
ac  perpetux  infamix  poenam  incurrant ;  et  ut  homicidoe  juxta  sa- 
cros  canones  puniri  debeant.  Kt  si  in  ipso  conllictu  decesserint, 
perpetuo  careant  eccelesiastica  sepulturu: — illi  etiam,  quiconcilium 
in  causa  duelli  tam  in  jure  quam  facto  dederint,  aut  alia,  quacunque 
raiione  ad  id  queniquam  suaserint,  nccnon  spcclatores,  excommu- 
nicationis ac  perpetux  maledictionis  vinculo  teneantur;  non  ob- 
stante quocuncjue  privilegio  scu  prava  consuctudine,  etiam  imme- 
morabili." 

Council  of  Trent,  Session  25.  Chap.  19. 

;  •Since  the  deatli  of  Cen.  ITamilton,  an  idea  has  been  suggested 
by  Major  General  Cliarles  Cotesworth  Tiiickncy,  Vice  President 
(Jcneral  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati,  in  a  letter  to  the  standing  com- 
mittee of  the  State  Society  of  Cincinnati  in  New  York,  which,  if 
adopted,  would  prove  as  probable  a  means  of  suppressing  the  shock- 


43 


religion  shall  be  permitted  so  to  purify  the  heart, 
as  to  restrain  and  finally  extinguish  those  feroci- 
ous passions  and  vicious  propensities,  which  are 
equally  opposed  to  our  happiness  in  this  world, 
and  in  that  to  which  we  are  all  rapidly  hast- 
ening. 

Should,  however,  so  happy  a  revolution  in 
sentiment  and  manners  ever  be  effected,  with 
what  wonder,  regret,  and  astonishment  will  the 


ing  practice  of  duelling  as  any  which  could  be  devised.  Such  a 
plan,  originating  in  a  military  association,  would  most  assuredly  have 
much  influence  in  the  community,  and  powerfully  aid  the  operation 
of  any  laws  or  resolutions  which  might  be  framed  by  civil  authority. 
"Is  there  no  way'*  says  the  General,  "of  abolishing  throughout  the 
union  this  absurd  and  barbarous  custom,  to  the  observance  of  which 
he*  fell  a  victim  ?  Duelling  is  no  criterion  of  bravery ;  for  I  have  seen 
cowards  fight  duels ;  and  I  am  convinced  real  courage  may  often  be 
better  shewn  in  the  refusal  than  in  the  acceptance  of  a  challenge.  If 
the  society  of  Cincinnati  were  to  declare  their  abhorrence  of  this  prac- 
tice, and  the  determination  of  all  its  membei*s  to  diseourage  it  as 
far  as  they  had  influence,  and  on  no  account  either  to  accept  or  send 
a  challenge,  it  might  tend  to  annul  this  odious  custom,  and  would 
be  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  sentiments  and  memory  of  our  late 
illustrious  Chief." 

These  are  the  correct  and  judicious  sentiments  of  a  gentleman 
whose  courage,  liberality,  honour,  and  patriotism  are  acknowledged 
and  unquestionable. 

•Maj.  General  Alexander  Hamilton,  President  of  the  Socictjr  of  Cincin- 
nati. 

F 


44 


adoption  of  so  savage  and  murderous  a  medium 
of  redress  for  insults  and  injuries  be  viewed?  by 
which,  an  insinuation,  an  unguarded  w^ord,  or 
even  a  look,  compels  a  man,  under  the  penalty  of 
public  reprobation,  ridicule,  and  contempt,  to 
rush  into  the  field;  and  there,  either  embrue  his 
hand  in  a  brother's  blood,  or  impiously  shed 
his  own.  * 


♦Brydone,  in  liis  Tour  tlirough  Sicily  and  Malla,  Vol.  1.  Let* 
XV r.  says  "Perhaps  Malta  is  the  only  country  in  tlic  Avoild, 
where  duelling  is  permitted  by  law.  As  their  whole  establisliment 
is  originally  founded  on  the  wild  and  romantic  principles  of  Clii- 
valry,  they  have  ever  found  it  UK)  inconsiKtcnt  with  these  principles 
to  abolish  duelling.  He  relates  an  instance  of  a  young  man,  who, 
for  refusing  to  accept  a  challenge,  was  condemned  to  make 
amende  hrjuourablr^  in  the  great  church  of  St.  John,  for  forty- 
five  days  successively  ;  then  to  be  confined  in  a  dungeon  ^\ithout 
light  for  five  years,  after  which  he  was  to  remain  prisoner  in  the 
castle  for  life.  The  unfortunate  young  man,  who  received  the  of- 
fence, was  likewise  in  disgrace,  as  he  had  not  an  opportunity  of 
wiping  it  out  by  the  blood  of  his  adversary.  If  the  legislature," 
continues  Mr.  Brydone,  "  in  other  countries  punished  with  equal 
rigour  those  who  do  fight,  as  it  docs  in  this,  those  who  do  jioty  I 
believe  we  should  soon  have  an  end  of  duelling.  But  I  should  im- 
agine the  punishment  for  fighting  ought  never  to  be  a  capital  one, 
but  rather  something  ignominious;  and  the  punishment  fcr  not 
fighting  sliould  always  be  capital,  or  at  least  some  severe  corporal 
punishment^  for  ignominy  will  have  as  little  effect  on  the  peisoii 
who  h  willing  to  submit  to  the  appellation  of  a  coward,  as  the  fear 
cf  death  on  one  who  makes  it  his  glory  to  despise  it." 


45 


What  gross  infatuation,  it  will  be  said,  what 
blind  deference  for  a  custom  to  be  expected  on- 
ly in  savage  life,  must  have  influenced  a  peo- 
ple, in  other  respects  polished  and  refined,  to 
resort  to  so  unjust  and  shocking  a  mode  of  de- 
ciding controversies !  by  which  truth  could  not 
be  ascertained,  the  offended  and  not  the  offen- 
der might  suffer,  and,  if  the  latter  be  punished, 
it  might  be  in  a  degree  far  beyond  the  nature 
of  the  offence,  inadequate  to  its  enormity,  or, 
perhaps,  in  no  degree  at  all.  Nay,  by  which 
an  envious^  revengeful^  or  malicious  character, 
might  force  a  man,  amiable  in  his  disposition^ 
eminent  for  his  talents^  and  in  the  highest  degree 
useful  to  the  community — at  the  same  time  op^ 
posed  in  principle  to  the  barbarous  custom, 
to  risk  his  life,  rather  than  bear  the  imputation 
of  cowardice,  or  encounter 

"The  world's  dread  laugh, 

Which  scarce  the  firm  Philosopher  can  scorn."^ 

Reason  indignantly  revolts  at  the  institu- 
tion; and  Religion  shrinks  back  with  hor- 
ror, and  trembles  at  its  impious  and  infuriated 
decrees.     She,  heavenly  messenger  of  peacc^ 


4G 


good  will,  and  love,  in  directing  our  steps  to  the 
realms  of  bliss,  breathes  nought  but  mildness, 
benevolence,  and  truth ;  endeavouring  by  her 
precepts  to  purify  our  spirits,  and  thereby  to 
qualify  us  to  associate  with  the  beatified  in- 
habitants of  Heaven.  Her  still,  small,  soothing 
voice,  charms  the  agitated  bosom  into  silence 
and  repose ;  and  calms  the  boisterous  billows  of 
passion,  with  the  irresistible  authority  of  the 
celestial  mandate,  "Peace!  be  still.*""  She  in- 
structs us  to  ''give  no  offence  in  any  thing; f" 
to  "love  as  brethren,"  to  "be  courteous; "t  to 
"seek  peace  and  pursue  it;"||  to  "follow  peace 
with  all  men;"§  "not  to  sow  discord  among 
brethren;"**  that  "it  is  an  honour  for  a  man 
to  cease  from  strife  ;"tt  that  "the  discretion  of  a 
man  defereth  his  anger,  and,  it  is  his  glory  to 
pass  over  a  transgression;"  Jf  that  "it  is  good 
and  pleasant  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in 
unity;"  nil  and  she  pronounces  a  "blessing up- 
on peace   makers,    who    shall    be    called  the 

•Mark  4.  39.  +2  Cor.  6.  .1.  f  I  Pet.  ".  8.  ||  Ps.  34.  14. 
J  Heb.  12.  14.  ••Piov.  6.  19.  ft  Piov.  '20.  Z.  :||  Prov.  19.  11. 
IIIlPs.    133.   1. 


47 


children  of  God.''*  She  teaches  us  to  "re- 
compense to  no  man  evil  for  evil;"t  to  "be 
kind  one  to  another,  tender  hearted,  forgiving 
one  another,"  (if  any  man  have  a  quarrel,  or 
oflFendeth  so  as  to  give  cause  for  a  quarrel,) 
"  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath  forgiven 
us;"t  "being  reviled  to  bless,  being  perse- 
cuted to  suffer,  being  defamed  to  entreat; j| 
to  love  our  enemies,  to  bless  those  who  curse 
us,  to  do  good  to  those  who  hate  us,  and  to 
pray  for  those  who  despitefully  use  us,  and  per- 
secute us;"§  that  "if  we  forgive  men  their 
tresspasses,  our  heavenly  father  will  also  for- 
give us;  but  if  we  forgive  not  men  their  tres- 
passes, neither  will  our  Father  forgive  our  tres- 
passes."** "Let  your  moderation  be  known 
unto  all  men;" ft  and,  "say  not  thou  I  will  re- 
compense evil,  but  wait  thou  on  the  Lord  and 
he  shall  save  thee. "  tt  ''He  who  revengeth,  shall 
find  vengeance  from  the  Lord,  and  he  will  sure- 
ly keep  his  sins  in  remembrance.  Forgive  thy 
neighbour  the  hurt  which  he  hath  done  unto 


♦Mat.  5.  9.    t  Rom.   12.   17.    |  Eph.  4.  32.    |i  1  Cor.  4.    12. 

13.     §Mat.  5.  44.     **Mat.  6.   14.   i5.    ft  Pliil.  4.  5.    \\?rov. 
20.  22. 


48 


thee,  so  shall  thy  sins  also  be  forgiven  when 
thou  pray  est.  One  man  beareth  hatred  against 
another,  and  doth  he  seek  pardon  from  the 
Lord?  He  sheweth  no  merey  to  a  man  who  is 
like  himself;  and  doth  he  ask  forgiveness  of  his 
own  sins?  Remember  thy  end,  and  let  enmity 
cease;  remember  corruption  and  death,  and 
abide  in  the  commandments.  Remember  the 
commandments,  and  bear  no  malice  to  thy 
neighbour;  remember  the  covenant  of  the 
Highest. "*  "Thou  shah  not  kill.^'t  "Your 
blood  of  your  lives  will  I  require  ;  at  the  hand  of 
eveiy  man's  brother  will  I  require  the  life  of  man." 
Such  are  the  heavenly  precepts  of  re- 
ligion; while  the  imperious  dictates  of  that 
frenzied  phantom,  modern  honour,  instigates 
to  conduct  diametrically  opposite:  she  teaches, 
not  to  bear  injuries  with  patience,  not  to  forgive, 
but  to  resent  them;  }wt  to  leave  vengeance  to 
the  justice  of  God,  biu,  to  execute  vengeance 
ourselves,  to 

"  Siiatcl)  fron\  his  hund  tlic  bulaiirc  and  llic  rod  ;'* 

to    endeavoiu-    to    murder    and    destroy    our 
fellow  creatures,  if  they   offend  us,    even  for 

Ecclus.  28.    1—7.    tExo.  30.    13.    t  Cen.  9.  5. 


49 


"trifles,  light  as  air" — otherwise,  that  we  must 
be  despised  by  all  men,  and  contemptuously 
excluded  from  the  respect  and  esteem  of  our 
fellow  mortals. 

Judge  now,  Brethren,  which  of  these  in- 
structors is  most  likely  to  give  true  dignity  to 
the  human  character,  and  to  promote  your  tem- 
poral and  eternal  interests. 

And,  if  neither  the  dictates  of  reason, 
the  persuasions  of  religion,  nor  the  ab- 
surdity of  those  impious  principles  of  false 
honour,  which  involve  men  in  the  guilt 
both  of  voluntary  and  intended  Suicide  and 
Murder^^  (unquestionably  incurred  by  the  du- 


*  "  Whenever  two  persons  in  cool  blood  meet  and  fight  on 
a  precedent  quarrel,  and  one  of  them  is  killed,  the  otlier 
IS  guilty  of  murder  i  and  cannot  help  himself  by  alleging  that  he 
was  first  struck  by  the  deceased,  or  that  he  had  often  declined  to  meet 
him,  and  was  prevailed  on  to  do  it  by  his  importunity ;  that  it  was  his  on- 
ly intent  to  vindicile  his  reputation  ;  or  that  he  meant  not  to  kill, 
but  only  to  disarm  his  adversary.  For  since  he  deliberately  engag- 
ed in  an  act  highly  unlawful,  in  defiance  of  tke  laws,  he  must  at 
his  peril  abide  the  consequences  thereof.  And  from  hence  it 
clearly  follows,  that  if  two  persons  quarrel  over  night,  and  appoint 
to  fight  the  next  day,  or  quarrel  in  the  morning,  and  agree  to  fight 
in  the  afternoon  ;  or  such  a  considerable  time  after,  by  which,  in 
common  intendment,  it  must  be  presumed  that  the  blood  was  coo!- 


50 

ellist,) — If  none  of  these  powerful  motives 
can  restrain  him,  let  him  listen  to  the  voice  of 
HUMANITY — let  him  consider  the  duty 
which  he  owes  to  society ;  and  the  unmerited 
misery  into  which  he  may  suddenly  plunge  the 
mnocent  and  virtuous  relatives  and  dependants 
of  his  unfortunate  antagonist.  Having  satiated 
his  Revenge  for  a  supposed  vijiiry ;  his  Jeal- 
ousy of  his  superior  success;  or  his  Envy  of  his 
unrivalled  and  acknowledged  talents ; — let  him 
view  him  as  the  victim  of  his  resentment, 
prostrate  on  the  earth,  weltering  in  his  blood, 
and  writhing  under  the  excruciating  agony  of  a 
mortal  wound.  Let  him  follow  him  from  "  the 
field  of  blood,"  to  the  chamber  of  death — see  him 
in  the  last  agonizing  moments  of  dissolution, 
surrounded  by  his  friends — his  distracted  wife 
bending  over  his  almost  lifeless  frame — and, 
perhaps,  a  group  of  helpless  children  swelling 
the  tide  of  woe  with  the  most  heart-rending 
sobs  and  lamentations. 

c(l,  and  tlicn   they   meet  and  fight,  and  one  kill  the  other,  he  is 
guilty  of  murder, 

Hawkins's  rieai  of  the  Crown.  13.  1.  C.  XXXI. 


51 


Just  and  Omnipotent  Creator,  and  Gov- 
ernor OF  the  Universe!  Is  there  no  cho- 
sen vengeance But  I  forbear — Christi- 
anity seals  my  lips,  and  constrains  me  to 
leave  the  vindictive,  blood-thirsty  perpetrator 
of  the  horrid  deed,  to  the  pangs  of  an  awaken- 
ing conscience,  and  to  the  mercy  of  his  God! 

Almighty  Father!  Protect  the  bereaved, 
disconsolate  Widow! — protect  her  helpless,  fa- 
therless Children! 

Alas  !  The  affectionate  Husband,  the  tender, 
protecting  Father,  the  invaluable  Member  of 
the  Community,  groans  out  his  spirit;  leaving 
them  to  bewail  the  sacrifice  of  his  life,  at  the 
idolatrous  altar  of  False  Honour  and  Imaginary 
Rectitude ! 

Such,  Brethren,  are  the  irrational  and  irreli- 
gious principles;  and  such  are  often  the  fatal 
consequences  of  A  DUEL. 

Its  recent  occurrence  among  us,  which  hath 
thrown  a  gloom  over  our  unfortunate  country, 
from  a  just  consciousness  of  her  irreparable 
loss,  is  thus  eloquently  commented  upon  by  a 


52 


learned  and  amiable  Prelate  of  our  church,* 
who  attended  the  distinguished  suf- 
ferer in  his  last  moments,  and  adminis- 
tered to  him,  the  most  sacred  consolation  of 
our  Holy  Religion.! 

*The  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Moore,  Bishop  of  the  Protes- 
tant Kpiscopal  Church  in  the  Slate  of  New  York. 

t "  I  PROCEEDED  to  convci'se  with  him  on  the  subject  of  his  recei- 
vini^- the  Communion,  and  told  him,  that  with  respect  to  the  quali- 
fications of  those  who  wished  to  become  partakers  of  that  Holy  Or- 
diance,  inquiries  could  not  be  made  in  language  more  expressive 
than  that  which  was  used  by  our  Church.  "  Do  you  sincerely  re- 
pent of  your  past  sins?  Have  you  a  lively  faith  in  God's  mercy 
through  Christ,  with  a  thankful  remembrance  of  the  death  of 
Christ  ?  And  are  you  disposed  to  live  in  love  and  charity  with  all 
men  ?"  He  lifted  up  his  hands  and  said,  "With  the  utmost  sin- 
cerity of  heart,  I  can  answer  those  questions  in  the  affirmative. — 
1  have  no  ill  v,  ill  against  Col.  Burr.  I  met  him  with  a  fixed  resolu- 
tion to  do  him  no  harm — I  forgive  all  that  has  happened."  "  I  then 
observed  to  hiin,  that  the  terrors  of  the  divine  law  were  to  be  an- 
nounced to  the  obdurate  and  impenitent ;  but  that  the  consolations 
of  the  Cospel  were  to  be  ofiered  to  the  huml)le  and  contrite  heart,- 
that  I  had  no  reason  to  doubt  his  sincerity,  and  would  proceed  im- 
mediately to  gratify  his  wishes.  The  Conmuinion  was  then  ad- 
ministered, wliith  he  received  with  great  devotion,  and  his  heait 
afterwards  appeared  to  be  perfectly  at  rest.  I  saw  him  again  this 
morning,  when,  with  his  last  faltering  words,  he  expressed  a 
strong  confidcnrc  in  the  mercy  of  (iod,  through  the  intercession 
of  the  Redeemer.  I  remained  with  him  until  2  o'clock  this  af- 
ternoon, when  death  dosed  the  awful  scene — he  expired  without  a 
struggle,  and  almost  wiiliout  a  groan." 

Bishop  Moore's  Letter  lo  tlic  Editor  of  the  Evening-  Post, 


53 


"By  reflecting,"  says  the  good  Bishop, 
"  on  this  melancholy  event,  let  the  humble  Be- 
liever be  encouraged  ever  to  hold  fast  that  pre- 
cious faith,  which  is  the  only  source  of  true 
consolation  in  the  last  extremity  of  nature.  Let 
the  Infidel  be  persuaded  to  abandon  his  oppo- 
sition to  that  Gospel,  which  the  strong,  inquisi- 
tive, and  comprehensive  mind  of  a  HAMIL- 
TON embraced,  in  his  last  moments,  as  the 
truth  from  Heaven.  Let  those  who  are  dispo- 
sed to  justify  the  practice  of  duelling,  be  indu- 
ced, by  this  simple  narrative,  to  view  with  ab- 
horrence, that  custom  which  has  occasioned  an 
irreparable  loss  to  a  worthy  and  most  afflicted 
family;  which  has  deprived  his  friends  of  a  be- 
loved companion,  his  profession  of  one  its 
brightest  ornaments,  and  his  country  of  a 
great  statesman  and  a  real  patriot." 

No^v  to  God  the  Father,  &c» 


POSTSCRIPT. 

The  circular  Letter  and  Memorial  of  the  State  Society  of  Cin- 
cinnati, and  of  the  American  Revolution  Society,  in  South  Caro- 
lina, on  the  subject  of  duelling,  having  appeared  during  the  print- 
ing of  this  Discourse,  and  after  the  note  in  page  42  was  put  to  the 
press,  the  author,  though  sensible  of  the  apparent  irregularity  of 
arrangement,  cannot  resist  the  desire  of  thus  publicly  expressing 
the  high  degree  of  pleasure  he  experienced  on  perusing  those  do- 
cuments ;  and  of  declaring  his  ardent  hope,  that  the  truly  laudable 
and  exemplary  exertion  thus  made  in  South  Carolina,  will  be  imita- 
ted by  the  other  States  in  the  Union.  He  trusts  their  citizens  will 
cordially  unite  in  opposing  so  increashig,  so  destructive  an  evil; 
and  resolutely  determine,  by  a  joint  and  vigorous  effort,  to  abolish 
a  practice,  the  absurdity  of  which  is  a  just  reproach  to  us  as  men, 
and  its  impiety  a  daring  violation  of  our  principles  as  Christians. 

It  is  indeed  "devoutly  to  be  wished,"  (and  the  proceedings  in 
South  Carolina  inspire  the  hope,)  that  those  who  exercise  the  le- 
gislative and  executive  authorities  will  now  become  duly  sensible 
of  the  weight  and  importance  of  the  subject,  and  enact  such  laws 
as  will  convince  us  they  are  in  earnest  in  their  opposition — laws 
which  will  operate  on  the  cause  as  well  as  the  effect,  and  thereby 
"protect  the  fame  and  feelings  of  the  innocent  and  insulted  per- 
son."—Laws  which  cannot  possibly  be  evaded  by  any  man,  let  his 
station  in  society  be  what  it  may;  and  which,  by  the  severity  of 
their  penalties,  will  compel  universal  obedience. 


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